USAPL Results Pages

26th IPF Women's World Powerlifting Championships
May 27 - 29, 2005
Ylitornio Finland

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The 26th version of the IPF Women's World Championships was held in Ylitornio, Finland, just a stone's throw from the Arctic Circle. In fact, several of the team members visited the "Santa Village" in Roveniemi which is transected by the Circle. We had our pictures taken standing on the line and making us eligible for the coveted "I crossed the Arctic Circle" certificates. The meet was held in Ylitornio, a village of approximately 1000 on the Torne River that divides Finland from Sweden. One of the meet hotels was in Overtonea, Sweden, across the river causing problems with bus schedules as the two countries are not in the same time zone. The venue was the Sportshall in Ylitornio, a great facility adequately staffed by virtually every citizen in the community.

44 kg. class:
The 44 kg. class was predicted to be a battle between Finn Raija Koskinen and Chen Wei-Ling of Chinese Taipei. Raija is the defending World Champion and Chen is the world record holder in the deadlift. It was to come down to the last deadlift, with Chen missing an attempt at the world record pull for the win. The USA's Cheryl Anderson, in her first IPF Worlds appearance took the bronze medal. Cheryl adapted to the rigorous IPF competition conditions under the tutelage of Jim Hart to provide a consistent performance in all of her lifts, and with a silver medal in the bench. She defeated Laurenc Hernandez of France by virtue of lighter bodyweight.

48 kg. class:
The 48 kg. class had no U.S. representative with Caitlin Miller moving to 56. Cait has grown 4 inches this past winter and proved to be have outgrown this weight class. It did cause some stir in the Technical Meeting moving her two weight classes up, but it also proved to be a good move as she was both happier and placed higher than she was projected at 48. Russia's Svetlana Teslava repeated as World Champion with a world record performance in total. Japan's Yukako Fukashima totalled 430 kg. for the Silver medal, and Ecuador's Vilma Ochoa took the Bronze. Vilma is a great squatter and deadlifter, and when her bench comes up into the range of her competitors will be a force to reckon with.

52 kg. class:
The USA had two entrants in the 52's: Jennifer Maile and Siouxz Hartwig. Jenn exited early with failing to get a squat in due to technical problems. Siouxz proved why she is an accomplished veteran with a solid performance, improving on her nationals total by 17.5 kg. and continuuing her return from a serious injury last year. She finished just out of the medals, but is sure to come back far stronger next year. Siouxz also demonstrated why she is thought of as one of the kindest and most supportive lifters in the sport through her encouragement of her competitors and cheering on her teamates throughout the whole meet. She was given hands on coaching by her fiance, Matt Gary who proved to be a workhorse for all the U.S. lifters. He is a great addition to the Women's coaching staff and we look forward to his returning next year.

This class was won by Russia's Olesia Lafina. She beat Finland's Mervi Rantamaki by 50 kg. enroute to a new world record total. Yevgeniya Arkhipenko of the Ukraine benefitted from kindness on the part of the judges in getting a bench in, and went on to take the Bronze medal.

56 kg. class:
Russia's Tatiana Eltsova totalled 520 kg. to take the 56 kg. class. She is a multi-time world champion and proved it this day through a nearly flawless performance. Ikeya Ayako of Japan Placed second with 470 kg. through the strength of her squats and deadlifts. Unlike many Japanese lifters, she is not a dominant bench presser but has balanced lifts across the board. Mervi Sirkia placed third at 422.5 kg. Cait Miller, only 14 years old totalled 400 kg. and proved that she is part of the future of powerlifting. When she grows into her frame, she will dominate her division.

60 kg. class:
The U.S. entrant in the 60's was Carly Nogle, one of the Plainwell (Michigan) National Champions. Carly missed her opening squat, leaving her at a deficit when it was time to pull. She gave a great effort at 205 kg. on her final pull to jump into the medals, but was unsuccessful. Carly is a great deadlifter, and will reel in the world record soon. Maria Revva, Russia's returning World Champion took the Gold with a 562.5 kg. total, with the Silver going to the host country's Paivi Haapoja. Maryana Plaksyva of the Ukraine took the Bronze.

67.5 kg. class:
The USA's Priscilla Ribic was nominated at number one, being the returning World Champion, but suffered the same malady that many of the U.S. team did in terms of being tired and losing strength. Very likely this was due to the rigorous travel schedule that we all experienced incoming as this was the most remote World Championships for U.S. lifters that we have experienced over the past many years. All of the U.S. team missed lifts that were well within their range, but all expect to improve to their previous level next year in Norway with easier connections. The Ukraine's Tetyana Skrypka beat Priscilla based on bodyweight, Russia's Natalia Barybina taking the Bronze.

75 kg. class:
There was no U.S. entrant in the 75 class, but this class reflected some of the best in the competition. Perenial World Champion, Marina Kudinova, at just over the 67.5 kg. limit, totalled 630 kg. She won the Champion of Champions award, and outpaced Lesya Humynska, of the Ukraine. Norway's Inger Blikra, a master 1 lifter, continues to improve and garnered the Bronze medal. Inger set a World Master total record.

82.5 kg. class:
Disa Hatfield, in her first IPF Worlds, placed fourth in an outstanding performance. If you have not participated in an IPF Worlds, the pressures of competition, atmosphere, and travel come together to make a very difficult run for those in their initial appearance. Disa handled the pressure well, performed like a champion and set a personal record in the deadlift. She got the bronze medal in the squat, and just missed it in the bench narrowly failing her final attempt.

The Ukraine's Katarina Boroday won this class, followed by Ielja Strik of the Netherlands. Olesya Rychkova, in her first appearance in several world championships, received the Bronze.

90 kg. class:
The 90's had two lifters from the U.S., Jessica O'Donnell-Watkins and Bonica Brown. Jessica received the Silver medal. Jessica is known for her squat, but her final attempt deadlift for the win (247.5 kg.) was a possible lift and would have been a significant p.r. Unfortunately, it got out in front of her a little, but this is a lift that she will get in the near future. She will not only a threat in the squat, but in the deadlift.

Bonica Brown, the Sub-junior world record holder contiues to perform well in every competition. She set a world mark in the squat, and performed competently in every lift thereafter. Bonica is likely to be the next big thing if she continues to improve and receives guidance on training and equipment. Her potential is limitless.

90+ class:
The women's unlimited division is populated by lifters who can win on any given day. This day belonged to returning world champion, Galina Karpova of Russia. Galina set world standards in the squat, benchpress and total. 13 time world champion, Chen Yeh Chao, of Taiwan placed second despite a major injury coming into the competition. Viktoria Olenytsya of the Ukraine placed fourth by 5 kg., losing out to Chen Yeh on the final deadlift.

The U.S. entrant was Harriet Hall. Harriet, at 57 continues to be a legitimate contender in the Open division. She struggled with only 4 completed attempts in this competition, but it wasn't for lack of strength. Had she completed her attempts, her total would have placed her in second place. Harriet set a Master 2 world record in the bench.

Team placings:
The first two places were unchanged from last year, with Russia and the Ukraine placing first and second. Third place went to the home team, Finland. It is very difficult to compete against a team competing in front of a home crowd, and the performance of the Finnish athletes was, essentially, flawless. They beat out the U.S. team for third place by three team points.

Final words:
No world competiton could be survived without the efforts and support of the coaching staff. The U.S. women benefitted from having the most competent and attentive coaching staff of any that I have worked with in 8 Women's World meets. Ivan Ribic, Tod Miller, Jim Hart, Matt Gary, and Mike O'Donnell worked all day, every day and were flawless. They proved to be multitalented in that they were able to perform in any role: numbers, hands on, loading plates, checking gear. These guys make the job of head coach easy and I look forward to working with them all again.

This competition was well run, well attended, and professional in it's presentation. Finnish television filmed it for television later, and articles were published in several regional newspapers. Despite the small town in which it was held, it was a huge success.

Next year is the first year of the combined men's and women's world championships in Stavanger, Norway. It promises to be the greatest show yet.