I continue to share interesting things from the world of strength sports. In this episode: they leave CrossFit young and return to powerlifting at any age. The best powerlifters in the world and the triumph of my compatriots.
CrossFit: Kari Pierce and Alessandra Picelli retire from sports
American athletes announced their retirement from competitive CrossFit on their Instagram accounts.
Kari Pearce made her CrossFit debut in 2015 at the CrossFit Open, and from the next year for seven years, she won prizes in international competitions and was included in the TOP-20 of the best athletes in the world. The last comp for her was Rogue Invitational 2021, where she finished seventh with 395 points.
Kari believes she has reached the top of her career. It's time to leave the sport and focus on business. The athlete has developed and is leading a 30-day PowerAbs program. This is a set of daily 10-minute abdominal exercises.
Alessandra Picelli's career lasted 10 years. Although her best result was fourth at the 2013 CrossFit Games and seventh at the 2021 CrossFit Open, she remained one of the most significant female athletes in the global CrossFit community.
It seems that Alessandra's retirement is associated with burnout: “For 10 years, I have been programmed to constantly evaluate my weaknesses and devise a plan to get better every year. This had become such a habit that after the CrossFit Games this year I felt lost. What’s the next goal now? What’s the point of still training? " In the near future, she plans to devote to her family and those things that she has denied herself for these 10 years.
By the way, such elite athletes as Scott Panchik and Christine Holte ended their careers this year. I am sure that their replacement has grown-up worthy.
Age +60 - time for new records
I don’t know if it’s possible to return to CrossFit after a 30-year break, but in powerlifting, anything is possible. And even more.
Beverley Weinberger, known as Bev Francis, returned to the sport after a 36-year break and broke six world records in three disciplines at World Powerlifting's Powerlifting Australia.
First, in the squat, deadlift and bench press, Francis broke previous records in the first attempts, and then set her own fresh indicators. According to the results in the Women's Masters 65-69 category in the 64 kg weight category, Francis lifted a total of 275 kg (606.3 lbs):
- squat - 95 kg (209.4 lb)
- bench press - 60 kg (132.3 lb)
- deadlift - 120 kg (264.6 lbs)
Of course, world records are not set overnight. Francis has an impressive background. From 1980 to 1985, she took first place in the world and national championships in powerlifting, then three years in a row won a bronze medal at Miss Olympia.
But until November of this year, she had a break of 36 years, during which she underwent a dozen operations: on her shoulder, two wrists, knee, including two knee replacements. After that, at the age of 66, with a weight of 62.5 kg, she set world records. Impressive.
72-year-old American Rudy Kadlub, co-owner of the Kabuki Strength gym, did not stop his sports career.. Since 2019, he is the holder of world records in powerlifting exercises in the 70-74 Masters division at 90 kilos.
On November 6, 2021, at the International Powerlifting League (IPL), he set four world records and won the title of Best Masters Lifter in the 100 kg weight category. His total was gained 579.1 kg (1277 lb):
- squat - 204.5 kg (451 lbs)
- bench press - 142.4 kg (314 lb)
- Deadlift - 232.1 kg (512 lbs)
Some lifter statistics
The sports resource BarBend has compiled a rating of bench press records for the entire history of the competition. The options for performing the exercise without special equipment, in special single-layer, multi-layer suits and without restrictions were considered.
The ranking results look like this:
Raw Bench Presses Men - Julius Maddox, 355 kg (782.6 lb) Installed at the 2021 Hybrid Showdown.
Women's Raw Bench Presses - April Mathis, 207.5 kg (457.5 lbs). Installed on Gritmas Classic 2016.
Men's Single-Ply - Jimmy Kolb, 508 kg (1,120 lb). Installed at the 2021 International Powerlifting Association (IPA) Powerlifting Championship.
Women's Single-Ply - Ray-Anne Cugenour-Miller, 242.5 kg (534.6 lb). Installed at the 2021 Metal Militia (MM) National Powerlifting Tournament.
Men's Multi-Ply - Tiny Meeker, 500 kg (1102.3 lb). Installed in December 2013.
Women's Multi-Ply - Becca Swanson, 272.5 kg (600.8 lbs). Installed at the Big Iron In-House Open 2008.
Unlimited Men - Will Barotti, 503.4 kg (1109.8 lbs). Installed on Baddest Benchers 2021.
Unlimited Women - Katrina Belomyza, 275.5 kg (607.4 lbs). Installed at the 2021 Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate (RPS) Maine Powerlifting Championship.
As you can see, some records have not been updated for a long time. This is not a bad challenge to athletes today.
For inspiration, I suggest watching my new collaboration withOleksiy Novikov, a Ukrainian strongman who has won the title of the strongest man on the planet for two years in a row:
And still, not without pride, I want to note the achievements of my compatriots.
Ukraine dominated the team awards at the World's International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Bench Press and Powerlifting Championships and IBSA European Bench Press and Powerlifting Championships by finishing top of all eight tables.
Alexander Chernobai, who won first place in the up to 90 kg category and scored 116.900 points according to Wilkes' formula.
Kosyreva struck gold once more in the Worlds IBSA Powerlifting Championship, posting a score of 383.933. The second was Ukrainian Galina Galinskaya with 361.4876 points.
Roman Kurov, who scored 443.951 points and eliminated the competition.
Such were the November events in the world of strength sports. Get inspired and keep working on yourself.