Euro lift for Laoch Barbell trio
THOMAS McCague warmed up for next month’s AWPC World Powerlifting Championships in fine style when capturing the European title in France recently.
The popular Drogheda powerhouse successfully benchpressed 135kg at the competition in Le Pont-de-Claix to win the 82.5kg category and now goes forward to the games in Manchester full of confidence.
Looking ahead to the tough challenge he faces on August 5th, the Rathmullen Park native said: ‘I was going to move up a weight class, but then I saw I was going to be up against a lot of seasoned lifters in that category, so I’m going with my head and I’m going to stay just below 82.5 to give me a better chance.’
Thomas trains locally in Laoch Barbell, and two other lifters who attend the same gym also had podium finishes at the Europeans. Gerard Buckley won the AWPC (Amateur World Powerlifting Congress) 110kg category when lifting 275kg (squat), 160kg (bench) and 275kg (deadlift) for a grand total of 710kg, while Ben Walsh was second in the 82.5kg WPC division with a bench press of 140kg.