SUPER MARIO
Risso of Rio Rancho is ready to rock at national powerlifting event
There will be a New Mexico flavor this week when one of the nation’s premier powerlifting events takes place in Las Vegas, Nev. From Thursday through Sunday, close to 300 qualified lifters from 38 states, ages 14 to 81, will be competing at the iconic Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in the United States Powerlifting Association’s U.S. Nationals.
Six of the lifters are from New Mexico, including a pair from Rio Rancho — 37-year-old Mario Risso and 44-year-old Donald “Eagle” Williams, who recently moved from Oklahoma.
“This is a very prestigious meet, regardless of weight and age classes,” said Steve Denison, president of the roughly 13,000-member USPA, which he said is the highest-profile powerlifting organization in the country. “We had only 27 states represented here last year, so it’s growing.” Risso is growing, too. A native of Ripon, Calif., he has been in Rio Rancho the past 11 years and is a paramedic training captain with the Santa Fe Fire Department. Risso holds several New Mexico records in different age and weight groups and will be competing in the 275-pound raw open class in full powerlifting — “full” being the term to describe lifting in all three disciplines (squat, bench press and deadlift). And as explained by Denison, “raw” lifters may compete with knee sleeves in full power, bench only and deadlift only. Then there’s “classic raw,” with knee wraps only in full power.
At a meet May 5 in Albuquerque, Risso improved his state records in raw open in the squat (573), bench press (496) and dead lift (683), for a total of 1,752 pounds.
“I’m trying to see how I can get to the next level, and that’s why a 2,000-pound total is a big goal for me,” he said. “I hope to do it before I hit 40.”
In late June while working out in his
garage, his bar started to bow as he set a personal record with a bench of 505. To help put that achievement in perspective, Risso said he has done 44 reps when benching 225 pounds.
“Really, my goal is to be competitive at my weight with all ages,” he said of the U.S. Nationals.
And he won’t be stopping this activity any time soon.
“I’ll go past (age) 40 because I’ve been a musclehead too long to let myself stop lifting weights,” he said, referring to beginning his weightlifting habit at age 15 but not powerlifting until two years ago. “I (and wife Naomi) have three small boys (2-year-old twins Marius and Magnus, along with 4-yearold Maximo) so I want to do this to set an example for them that strength matters and that competing matters. So I’ll definitely do this as long as I can.”
Williams, meanwhile, will be in the 242-pound class in the 40-44 age bracket. He’s in the “classic raw” category.
“I started lifting at 33 as a way to prevent getting diabetes,” said Williams, a Native American who said the disease is prevalent with his tribes in Oklahoma, which are the Umatilla, Wallowa Band and Kiowa.
In this meet Williams, who works as a desk agent at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, has his eyes on breaking the New Mexico state mark of 1,258.6 pounds when totaling the squat, bench and deadlift. He already has achieved a 1,227 total. Farther down the road his goal is 1,500.
“I know I’m going to give it a try,” he said. “When I started doing this that number seemed unattainable, but after grinding all these years, it’s there for me. It’s a reality.”
Denison said he didn’t know how many U.S. record holders are entered for the Vegas showcase event, but mentioned some standout lifters who will be on hand, such as 40-year-old LeRoy Walker of Austin, Texas, who has the national bench press mark for his super heavyweight class at 661 pounds. Then there’s Jessica Kratz of Macungie, Pa., who owns the women’s raw deadlift mark in the 40-44/148-pound class at 402 pounds.
Other New Mexicans who will competing at the Golden Nugget will be Deming’s Eric Olivas, Albuquerque’s Lori Christ, Santa Fe’s Michael Stewart and Las Vegas’ Placido Gomez.