World Juniors Championships Sotchi Russia
| The IPF 20th Juniors Powerlifting World Championships this year in Sochi represented most every American powerlifter's dream: an opportunity to compete against the best - the Russian team - on their home turf. Obviously not every American powerlifter can qualify for the team. This year we had a great team of nine women and eleven men representing us. Seventeen people converged at Chicago O'Hare Airport, the other eleven in Dallas, all on their way to Moscow where the whole team met up, transferred to the domestic terminal thanks to Mr. Vladimir Bogatchev and his wife Julia, and flew on to Sochi. We all will remember Aeroflot Airlines, and I would think it's safe to say many lifters will pack lighter bags next time.
We arrived Sunday evening and although tired from the long journey, our bodies had not adjusted to the time difference. We were the first team to arrive, and greeted warmly with an entourage at the airport, and interpreters at the hotel. After checking into the hotel a few chose to wander around and explore our new surroundings. We were not precisely in Sochi, but in a resort community just outside the town. At breakfast the next morning many people were mentioning the large number of karaoke bars they had seen. Later we discovered that they were not exactly karaoke bars, rather most every café provided live music in the evening consisting of a singer with a sound system. Oops. We discovered we were not the only world-class athletes in town, there was a World Soccer and Track Championship for disabled athletes just finishing. We saw athletes from several countries and the single-legged athletes on crutches running up and down the concrete soccer field inspired all of us. Sochi, found in the Krasnodar kray in southwestern Russia, is also known the Russia Riviera - the hot spot for Russian vacationers. A beautiful community located on the Black Sea with the Caucasus Mountains behind it. It was established in 1896 on the site of an old fort, and began developing as a resort area in 1902. Literature and web sites about Sochi talk of it's popularity, and it was proven as the President himself was vacationing in the area with his family that week. Security was further heightened due to his visit. Monday evening we planned to do a sunset tour of Sochi after spending the afternoon at the venue, but the tour was cancelled due to mechanical failure of the bus. The visit to the venue gave us some insight that is not found in tour books or web sites. We discovered the secret to the Russian athlete's ability to squat so deep. They have the opportunity to practice depth often every day. They do not have the luxury of porcelain support units, as Americans are accustomed to in the lavatories, rather they squat over a hole in the floor. The next morning we were scheduled to go into the mountains and see Red Lake. The bus was still not repaired, but we loaded in three mini-vans and headed up the mountain. We made a few stops along the way to see a trout farm, or overlook a canyon with a river through it. Then we had an unexpected stop due to a rockslide. After waiting a while we decided to visit a salmon farm in the valley to pass the time while they cleared the road. Some skipped rocks across the river, others sat with their feet in the water, and Doc went swimming, unintentionally. We sat in a metal shed that served as a café, had a something to drink and some bread. After a couple hours we headed back up the mountain only to wait for 20 minutes more and decided to turn around just as we got word the road was clear. At this point we were hungry and all wanted to get back into town and have dinner. That turned out to be a good choice as we later learned there was a second rockslide further up that road later in the day that stranded the Russian Cycling team on the topside. We're thankful we were not stranded with them. Each morning before the town awakes, the lifters walk to breakfast amid stray dogs and roaming cows and horses. After breakfast they catch the shuttle to the venue. The venue has a gymnasium area, which serves as the warm up room. The auditorium is the competition platform with a small backroom for staging. There is an on-site café for food and beverages, and tables set up outside complete with television monitors so spectators can enjoy the nice warm weather and still see the live powerlifting action. Wednesday the competition began with the 44-67.5 kg women broken into three sessions. The women in the first flight warmed up as Todd Straub represented us in the opening ceremonies. The parents helped us stake out our cheering section in the auditorium, and we had a special addition to our coaching staff. We were short handed this year, and Vladimir Bogatchev was generous enough to lend us one of his coaches - Alexander Bikchrvin. Alex was truly a part of our team, down to the t-shirt and US flag pin. He helped with warm ups, wraps, numbers, and anything else we needed. Our two 44kg women were both new to the world scene but performed well on the platform. Something that most Americans are not used to is the speed at these meets. Most of the sessions were single flights allowing only 15 minutes break between events. Annette Axt hit a 92.5 kg squat, and finished fifth overall. Erin Crapo worked through a low back injury, which affected her squat and pull, but managed to hit a 57.5 kg bench for a bronze medal. Natalia Kirkunova dominated the class hitting a 332.5 kg total with credit for only her opening deadlift. Michelle Amsden was in the second session and had a great day hitting personal bests in all three lifts & total. Michelle set all new Junior and Collegiate American Records in all four results. The squat, bench and total are also new Open American records. She also missed a 4th attempt bench press for a new Junior World Record of 111kg. Michelle tied Nadejda Malugina and took second on body weight. In addition to her overall silver she took home a bronze squat, gold bench and silver deadlift medals. Robyn Niederkorn made the team again this year and after a slow squat start came back to get a bronze in the bench and pull for 4th place. Kim Callier-Hooper and Destiny Joyner finished off our first day strong even though they were lifting in the evening and in a very tough weight class. Destiny even had a PR pull of 155 and a pr total. Lesya Guminska of Ukraine had an impressive 572.5 kg total, with a 232.5 kg squat and a missed attempt at 225.5 for a new Junior World Record deadlift. At the end of the first day, six women competed and the medal count for Team USA was six. After all the lifting is done and all the autographs are signed the shuttle shows up to return us to the hotel. By the time the team returns at the end of the day the sun has set and the town has come alive, people walking back from their day at the beach, and music once again sounding from the cafes. The women had a well-deserved celebration that evening, meeting up with the team from Venezuela and dancing the night away at Café Paris. The second day was the busiest for the US with eight lifters, and Jim Hart's suitcase finally showed up so he had to sit in the judges chair. The remaining three women lifted in the morning. Katie Ford led things off and hit a personal best squat and pulled all three deadlifts. It was yet another tough class with Tatyana Kudryavtseva from Kazahkstan only getting in six lifts yet still totaling 560 kg. The US did not have a woman in the 82.5 kg class, and it is just as well as Irina Yavorska of Ukraine pulled a 225 kg Junior World Record deadlift and had a new Junior World Record total with 580 kg. In the 90 kg class Julia Kurina of Russia set a new Junior World Squat Record with her second attempt at 255 and broke it again by 7.5 kg on her third. She was a bit off only hitting one bench, but pulled all three including a Junior World Record 230 kg for her final pull. Jessica Watkins had an off day, something not typical for this veteran lifter. In the final women's category, Sarah Greenup had quite the battle going with Valeria Sheglova of Russia. Both women had personal best squat days that left Sarah ahead by 5 kg even though she missed her third squat when her foot slipped out from underneath her. Sheglova had three strong benches in to pull ahead of Sarah. Sarah answered with pulling all three dead lifts. Sarah finished with the silver medal in squat at 240 kg, a bronze medal in bench at 117.5 kg, and a silver and personal best deadlift with 200kg. Sarah earned the silver overall, solidly ahead of third and only 10 kg away from Sheglova. There was a total of 57 women from 14 countries and the US women finished in a solid third place overall with 44 points. Best lifters for the women were Lesya Guminska, Ukraine, Tatyana Kudryavtseva, Kazahkstan, and Nadejda Malugina, Uzbekistan. There was no break as we moved on to the men, starting with 52 kg and 56 kg men being two flights in the first session. Jeremy Scruggs moved down to 52 kg to join Damarrio "Doc" Holloway and 6 other guys. Sergei Fedosienko easily won the class with a 582.5 kg total. Doc and Jean Piere Miranda from Venezuela were both three for three at 182.5 in the squat. It was a personal best for Doc, yet he took 4th in the squat on bodyweight. Jeremy made up for the missed squat and although he only hit two benches, 110 kg was enough for a bronze. When it came to deadlift the US men showed their stuff, Jeremy won the bronze with 215 kg and Doc had gold at 220 kg. Doc took the bronze overall, and Jeremy finished fourth. Another Russian lifter, Ravil Kazakov easily won the 56 kg class with a 600 kg total. Micah Killetico had a great bench day lifting all three and earning the silver at 122.5. The amount of weight he lost caught up to him on deadlift as his suit was too loose and he was only able to pull his opener but still finished sixth overall. The competition in this class was really tight. Had Micah pulled his second deadlift he would have finished in third place. Competition like this makes the world championships the world championships. The fourth and final session of the day was one flight for the ten 60kg lifters. For the US rookie Marcus Williams was competing with veteran and fellow Tech-ster Trey Cunningham. As seemed to be the theme of the day for the men, a Russian lifter, Aleksandr Gromov had a great day, going eight for nine, hitting a new Junior World Record bench of 170 kg and finishing with a 645kg total. Although the winner was clear in the class the rest of the lifters ranking was not so clear until the final pulls. Marcus Williams earned the bronze in squat with 227.5 kg. Trey was a bit off in squat, retaking his second attempt but getting it on his third. Marcus had an off bench day, but made up for it with deadlifts. He pulled 250 kg for the silver and that also earned him the silver overall, beating out Volodym Pogrebnyy from Ukraine on bodyweight. Trey had a bit of an off day missing his second bench and having loose suits due to weight loss. He finished sixth overall but only 7.5 kg behind fourth. With two days down and three to go we had fourteen lifters on the platform and sixteen earned medals. Great effort from the lifters and great job by the coaches, we couldn't have survived without Alex. Despite the late hour by the time we got back to the hotel, the lifters found the bumper car ride and had some driving fun before hitting the dance floor. Friday was a bit of a welcome relief from the previous two. We had no lifter in the first session of 67.5 kg class so everyone took the opportunity to get a little extra rest. A Russian lifter, Artyom Korotygin, again dominated the class. He went seven for nine and had a 690 kg total. Niklas Jonson of Sweden put up a new Junior World Record bench of 190.5 kg. Next was Todd Straub in the 75kg, another new lifter for the US competing with ten other guys. Todd was only one of two guys in the class to get in all three squats. The other guy, Ron Hernan, from Venezuela, hit a new Junior World Record on his third at 313kg. Hernan proceeded to get all three benches, but was tired by deadlifts, only getting one and finishing 10 kg behind Andrey Belaev from Russia. Belaev started off with only an opener squat, but didn't miss a lift after that. Todd had to repeat his second bench but was still fourth in the bench, and finished eighth overall. Another new lifter for the US Team was our 82.5 kg guy, David Zaworski. Once again it was a large class, twelve lifters. The battle for the top four slots was close, Sergiy Nalekyn from Ukraine and Alexey Azarikin and Pavel Ozerov from Russia all hit their first six lifts. Michael Wilk of Poland missed one lift of each event but still finished fourth overall. In the end Nalekyn won with an 822.5 kg total. Zaworski had a slow start hitting only one squat, but he improved to hit two benches and then all three deads to finish ninth overall. After all was said and done this day, I believe the dance place of choice was Café Mexico. Saturday was another reasonable day with three classes in --- sessions. In the 90 kg class there were eight lifters and Dmitriy Vorona from Kazahkstan won the class with 822.5 kg followed by Dmitry Likchanov from Russia with 817.5 kg. Matt Goldin was nominated to lift in this class but we decided to move him up a class. Matt joined seven others in the 100 kg class and was the lightest guy weighing in at 90.8 kg. As seemed to be the theme for the men, a Russian handily won the class even though he only got his opening deadlift. Maksim Barkhatov had a 362.5 kg squat, a Junior World Record bench at 245 kg and finished with a 927.5 kg total. Matt and James Townsend were both new members on the US team and performed well. As coincidence has it they both had two squats, two benches and one deadlift. Matt finished fifth overall with a 722.5 kg and James seventh with 685 kg. Two great performances especially considering it was their first time on a world platform. There was no US representation in the 110 kg class, and again we saw a Russian Lifter easily winning the class. In this case, it was well known Nikolai Suslov. He hit a new Junior World Record on his second squat of 390 kg! Add a 240 bench and a 340 dead and you get his 970kg total. Second place was Roman Voroshylin of Ukraine with 880 kg, and the bronze went to Samson Avagyan from Armenia at 730 kg. Jan Mestari of Finland was fourth with 690 kg, but had he hit more than five lifts he may have had a shot at third. The final day had a single session and one flight for the eleven men in the 125 and 125+ classes. Coming into Sunday's competition the men's team was in fourth posisiton behind India, Ukraine and Russia. We had Emilio Sadierna and Randall Harris, India had one lifter yet to lift. We knew the battle would be close, and it became even more interesting when Rakesh Kumar from India bumped up a class. Emilio Saldierna was at the world championships last year as a traveling alternate, and assisted the coaching staff greatly although he did not have an opportunity to lift. This year was his chance and he started off with getting in the first two squats. He did not have a good bench day, but made up for it with a personal best 272.5 kg (that's 600-pounds!) pull on his third. Emilio finished with an overall sixth place. Competition was tight again in this class with only 5kg separating the top two, Igor Medvedev from Russia taking gold with 922.5 kg followed by Yevgen Yarymash from Ukraine. Randall Harris was feeling the effects of the weight loss due to dietary changes. He only hit his opening squat but it got him silver behind Kenneth Tallqvist from Finland who hit 375 kg. In the bench Harris settled into the rhythm of things, put up 245 kg for the gold, with Tallqvist right behind him at 240kg. The weight loss really zapped Randall's strength by the deadlift, but the competitive edge immerged and he and pulled all three ending with a personal best 332.5kgand the gold in deadlift. Tallqvist was also tired by the deadlift and only hit his opener for third in the deadlift and second overall. During the week we heard the Russian National Anthem played the most, an impressive thirteen times, in recognition of the Russian Champions. Ukraine's anthem was heard four times, Kazakhstan twice, and Uzbekistan once. The US anthem was also played once, and it was wonderful to have it be the final anthem of the competition. The men's team finished in third place overall with 47, just seven points behind Ukraine, and five ahead of India. The banquet was one of the best I have been to. Appetizers consisted of bread, meats, fish, cheeses, tomatoes and cucumbers, the table was set with water (without gas for the US Team), various juices, red wine, and, of course, vodka. After the awards presentations the main course came out, fried chicken and fried potatoes. Live music was provided, a group rather than just a singer as in the local cafes, and dancing continued well into the night. The popularity of the American lifters is always fun to watch as other lifters want photographs and signatures. This year the popularity was not only behind the camera, but also on the dance floor as our men showed the world their moves. A good time was had by all. The autograph session continued onto the Aeroflot flight the next morning to Moscow, where we finally had to say thank you (spaseebah) and goodbye (da sveydahnya) to many of our new foreign friends. A short shuttle ride had us at the Holiday Inn - Vinogradovo. It was a nice transition between Sochi and the US, with larger rooms, nice showers, toilets, alarm clocks and phones. We were limited in time but managed a team dinner at McDonalds just off Red Square before seeing a few sights in the limited hours of daylight we had. Back at the hotel some went to bed as the 4:30 bus was leaving rather early, others decided to stay up all night. The swimming pool was small but was full of water. So full, in fact, had a couple people gotten in at the same time, it would overflow. There was a billiards table of sorts on the game floor. The pocket bumpers had less of an angle as the tables at home and had a colored cue ball and solid white numbered balls. The players adapted accordingly, setting up their own rules for the funny table. Every trip is an adventure, but it's the people who make the trip memorable. Pulling together a team like this takes a lot of work, and recognition needs to be given to those who have made this happen. Our sponsors, Titan Support Systems and Inzer Advanced Designs, they provided gear for our lifters, and Peter Thorne offered his services while at the meet. All the parents, friends and coaches back home who help the athletes train and balance lifting and school and work. So much is learned on an international trip that cannot begin to be taught in a classroom. Next the coaching staff. Thanks first go to a couple people who did work before hand but were not able to make the trip. Jim Ford who did a lot of work coordinating the invitation and airlines, and Mike O'Donnell who coordinated uniforms. They both helped the team at home but we still missed their help at the venue. Jim Hart deserves thanks for his services doing double duty both as a coach and a referee. Without a referee our team would not be able to score maximum lifters for team points. Greg Simmons can and did do everything, he ran a great warm up room spouted kilos by heart, and was great hands-on. And last but definitely not least, thanks to Alexander Bikchrvin for giving of his time and effort to our team and being an American Coach for a week. And thanks to Vladimir Bogatchev for offering Alex's assistance, it helped out the US Team and is a great example of true sportsmanship. And finally I want to thank the members of this year's USAPL Junior National Team for all their hard work and dedication. Not only did this team prepare themselves individually before the trip, they quickly bonded as a team once we were all together. A great big special thanks to the parents who accompanied us - they helped us stake out our section in the auditorium every day, the watched bags, ran errands, took pictures, and were great cheerleaders. Thanks for being part of our team. I will close with recognition for the captains - Jessica and Trey - you both demonstrated what it means to be a leader. To James Townsend who was awarded the team spirit award, for his outstanding attitude in helping with lifters at earlier sessions and always putting the team goals before his own. And to the seniors: Michelle Amsden, Kim Hooper, Trey Cunningham, Todd Straub, David Zaworski, and Randall Harris, I wish you the best of luck in the open class. |