Iron champion
From stay-at-home mom to national powerlifting record holder, Medicine Hat’s Cherisse Martineau has had a productive five months.
Martineau picked up powerlifting after watching a friend excel in the craft, and says it has been a truly rewarding experience to discover where her limits lie.
“It’s great to have some sort of goal for myself. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for a long time now and now I have this that I can focus on for myself,” said Martineau. “I can set goals for myself, reach those goals and set new ones.”
Martineau set national records in the 90-plus kilogram, 35-to-39-year-old division for both her squat and deadline at the Raw Powerlifting Iron Challenge this weekend, held Saturday at Temple Fitness in Medicine Hat. Her squat lift of 115 kilograms was enough to etch her name in the record books, then she doubled the feat with a 150-kilogram deadlift. But even after breaking the previous record of 130-kilograms, then breaking it two more times on her own accord to set a new bar, Martineau says she still has plenty left for the future.
“I’ve never lifted with this type of bar before, it’s different than what we have in my gym, and I’ve never been in this situation so we had no idea where it was going to go. But that didn’t necessarily feel like my max,” said Martineau, adding she’s still searching for a ceiling. “I think I’ll be doing much, much more next competition.”
In other local powerlifting action, Medicine Hat’s Mike Moorhead set world records in the 40-year-old, 100-kilogram class with a 230.5-kilogram squat, a 178.5-kilogram bench, a 74-kilogram strict curl and a 582-pound deadlift as well as a national record with a 115-kilogram military press.
Calgary’s Sherine Thoummarath also set a new world record in the 56-kilogram deadlifting open class, besting her previous mark by half a kilogram with a 163kilogram lift.
“It feels amazing, and a little bit hard on the body right now,” she said. “I feel like you’ve just got to keep working toward what you want to do.”