Topic: News: Lifters turn iron into gold, silver, bronze at '07 Doug Hepburn Champs

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Lifters turn iron into gold, silver, bronze
By Ed Lafleur

Adrian Cadmus-Dixon and Aaron Webster led the Lake Trail Weightlifting Club contingent as the locals hosted the 10th Annual Junior Doug Hepburn Weightlifting Championships on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Six local athletes participated, representing Courtenay Elementary, Lake Trail Middle and G.P. Vanier Secondary Schools.  The “Jr. Doug” commmemorates Canada’s only world champion weightlifter, B.C.’s own Doug Hepburn who was the heavyweight champion in 1953; and is for athletes 16 years old and younger.

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Brieanna Cadmus-Dixon, 14, was the first Lake Trail lifter to compete, in the girls’ 53kg bodyweight category. She successfully lifted 31, 33 and 35kg in the Snatch and then Cleaned and Jerked 40kg, before missing 43 on her second Jerk attempt. She came back with her third and last attempt to solidly lock the bar overhead and make 43kg. That gave her 78kg for her Total and the silver medal in her category. Cadmus-Dixon has been scoring goals for the Lake Trail Grade 9 field hockey team and has been unable to train as much as she would like, but these results are just 1kg from her PR’s (Personal Records).

Next up were the boys, and Courtenay Elementary’s Colton Tuka, 10, the youngest lifter in the competition.  Competing in his first provincial tournament, he was understandably nervous and didn’t quite complete his first Snatch attempt with 23kg. Tuka came back and made that weight, then took 25kg for his third attempt. This weight, almost his PR, was just a bit too much on the day, but he will soon surpass it.

Tuka’s favourite event, the Clean and Jerk followed, and he opened with 30kg which he made solidly. He also made 32kg on his second and finished his day with another solid lift, 34kg to give him a 57kg Total, quite respectable in his debut. To cap off his day, he took the gold medal in the 51kg category.

Austin Guignard, 12, and in Grade 7 at Lake Trail – also in his first provincial tournament – followed and opened his Snatch competition with a good lift of 25kg. He followed that with solid Snatch lifts of 27 and 29kg.  Guignard then fook 32, 34 and 36kg in the Clean and Jerk, and was solid with all three, giving him a Total of 65kg and earning him the bronze medal in the 56kg category.

Adrian Cadmus-Dixon, 15, and in Grade 10 at Vanier, continued his domination of the 56kg category with a PR Total of 146, earning him the gold medal. He opened with a 61kg Snatch which he made solidly. He followed with a new PR of 65, again making it solidly. He then tried 67kg and almost made it, just failing to pull his knees up enough to stay under the bar. He had the bar locked out overhead, but it was just a bit forward and it fell to the ground.

Cadmus-Dixon opened the Jerk with 75kg, a solid opener, and followed with 79 and 81kg, both PR’s.  He should be able to better those lifts at the BC Senior Championships in November, and should qualify to represent B.C. at the Canadian Junior Championships in January.

Corey McBeath, 16 and in Grade 11 at Vanier, opened his 77kg category competition with an attempt at 90kg in the Snatch. He pulled the bar over the top and in the process reinjured the elbow he had injured at the BC Junior Team training camp in September. When he tried 90 for the second time, he was favouring the elbow and left the bar out front.

Courageously trying 90 again, McBeath’s elbow just wouldn’t allow him to complete the lift, and he had to withdraw from the competition with no result. McBeath is planning a good rehab, and hopes to be fit to represent B.C. at the Canadian Juniors in late January. His recent results should easily earn him that chance.

Aaron Webster, also 16 and in Grade 11 at Vanier, competing in the 77kg category, opened his tournament with a Snatch attempt of 74kg, which would be a new PR.  He easily made that and followed with two more PR’s, 77 and 81kg--10kg more than his PR before this tournament.

Because of a wrestling injury, Webster hadn’t competed since May, but to add 10kg  in 5 months is quite good.  In the Clean and Jerk, he again opened with a PR lift of 93kg, which he made solidly. He next took 96kg, and then 100kg, locking the bar overhead with each and getting good lift from the referees, for more PR’s and adding 10kg to his Jerk PR as well.

With his Total of 181, he not only earned the silver medal and his Lake Trail Weightlifting Award for Achievement for a 225 Sinclair – a brand new hoody – he put himself in the mix for the BC Junior Team selection. Webster is aiming for a 190 Total at the BC Senior Championships next month.