Brookswood resident Josh Cook overcame a minor case of nerves and had a good meet at the 2021 Summer Open Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships Saturday, Aug. 28 and Sunday, Aug. 29 at Trinity Western University鈥檚 David E. Enarson Gymnasium.
Cook, 23, won the Junior 105 kilogram unequipped class (no special lifting suit or wraps) and recorded a personal best in the deadlift, hoisting 240 kg.
He admitted to 鈥渁 little bit of nerves鈥� at returning to competition after being idled, along with every other powerlifter in B.C., for close to two years because of the pandemic.
鈥淚鈥檝e been grinding it out in the gym,鈥� said Cook, who trains at Fitness World.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to feel back to normal,鈥� Cook told the 91原创 Advance Times.
He described himself as 鈥渏ust glad鈥� to be competing again.
The Open was the first provincial powerlifting competition since the pandemic hit, British Columbia Powerlifting Association president Dennis Leong explained.
鈥淥ur last meet was in February 2020. It was a qualifier for the Special Olympics,鈥� Leong recalled.
Provincial Return to Play guidelines were in effect at the 91原创 event, with masks required except when attempting lifts.
More than 100 lifters took part and volunteers made the event work.
鈥淲ithout them, we wouldn鈥檛 have anything,鈥� Leong said.
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Leong said days before the event, people were working to make sure equipment that had been stored for nearly two years was still in good shape, including the computer programs that handle scheduling and track results.
鈥淚t went quite well,鈥� Leong summarized.
鈥淎t the end of the day, all the lifters formed a human chain to load the [weight] plates into a trailer,鈥� Leong added. 鈥淚t was good to see the camaraderie.鈥�
The association鈥檚 next event sanctioned is set for Sept. 11 in Victoria.
READ ALSO: 鈥�It鈥檚 never too late to get strong鈥�: Aldergrove grandma deadlifts twice her weight for the gold
consists of three events, the squat, bench press, and deadlift.
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