IPF/NAPF championships..
THE first day of competition in the International Power Lifting Federation(IPF)/ North American Power lifting Federation(NAPF) Caribbean Islands Championships, which was held at the Princess Hotel, was highlighted by the stellar performances of Guyana’s Randolph Morgan, Winston Stoby, Wazeem Immamdeen and Ryan Williams and Puerto Rico’s Migdalia Fernandes who each walked away having broken a Caribbean record in their respective categories. Morgan who also claimed the gold medal in the 82.5Kg category and was adjudged best lifter of the first day’s competition, set, not only a new national record but also the new Caribbean record when he completed a repetition under the burden of 205kg in the bench press event.
Morgan also set Caribbean records of 295kg in the squat and 295kg in the dead lift. The modern-day Hercules performed eight successful lifts out of nine which accrued a total of 795kg which was also the new over-all Caribbean record.
Age was clearly just a number to Winston Stoby as the 51-year old Masters II competitor, bolstered by the hearty encouragement from the spectators, set a new Caribbean record for the dead lift in the 75kg weight class with his heave of 272.5kg.
Of the four female lifters in competition yesterday, Migdalia Fernandes (67.5kg weight class) was the individual whom was clearly a cut ahead of the competition and she took it up a notch when she set new Caribbean records of 105kg in the bench press, 180kg in the squat, 177.5kg in the dead lift and an over-all record of 462.5kg.
She completed a perfect day of lifts with no failed attempts to blemish her crowning achievements. Wazeem Immamdeen’s dead lift of 210kg was a new record as was his total of 477.5kg while his country mate, Ryan Williams’, efforts of 237.5kg in the Squat and 250kg in the Dead Lift included him among the record breakers
Gold Medallist in the 82.5kg weight class, Masters III division, Nairanjan Singh of the United States of America (USA), who is 65 years old, was not only the oldest competitor in participation but he was also the only individual to compete in that division.
Paula Smith of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) won the gold in the Female Masters I division, 90+ weight class. In the Female Open Division Migdalia Fernandes won the gold medal while Paula Smith took the silver, Yolande McIntyre of Trinidad and Tobago won the third place bronze medal and her country mate Cheryl Abraham received the fourth place bronze medal.
Wazeem Immamdeen of Guyana coming off three failed lifts and a total of 477.5kg won the gold medal in the 60kg weight class of the Male Open Division.
Jonathan Joseph (USVI), who had a perfect day with no failed lifts, was the gold medallist in the 67.5kg weight class in the Male Open Division, while the impressive 16 year old Jameal Welcome of the Cayman Islands copped the silver medal.  Guyana’s Ryan Williams claimed gold in the 75kg weight class of the Male Open Division while Mervyn ‘Spongy’ Moses was nursing a back injury which severely impeded his efforts.
Randolph Morgan was the gold medallist in the 82.5kg weight of the Male Open Division while athletes from the USA, Thomas Cencich, who narrowly missed setting a new IPF record in the Masters II division for the Bench Press event, and Nairanjan Singh claimed the silver and bronze medals in respect of that order.