Incomparable ‘Big’ John Edwards smashes three records
… Adrian Brown, Ramon Burgos also among impressive performers
THE final day of competition in the International Power Lifting Federation (IPF)/North American Power Lifting Federation (NAPF) Caribbean Power Lifting and Bench Press Championships, which were held at the Princess Hotel, saw Guyana (GUY) end on a high as ‘Big’ John Edwards, who is a two-time North American champion, Pan-American Champion and now a two-time Caribbean Champion, won not only the gold medal in the Masters I B Division but he also went up a notch as his efforts also won him the gold medal in the 125kg weight class of the Male Open Division in record-breaking fashion.
Throughout the day Edwards’ performances were nothing short of classy. Despite failing in his first attempt in the squat which was at a weight of 327.5kg, a mark which he went on to surpass on his second attempt, he subsequently pushed the button a bit further with his successful third attempt effort of 350kg.
This lift set a new record for the squat in the 125kg weight class of the Male Open Division, while his second attempt of 295kg in the dead lift, which followed his 282.5kg attempt, was also performed in record-breaking fashion for that division. His third attempt, however, did not go as smoothly as its predecessors as the 305kg that he was required to hoist proved too much for him.
In the bench press he was only able to successfully complete his second attempt which was done with a weight of 215kg but that cannot degrade his performance as the total of 860kg that he had under his belt at the end of the day was also a new record.
In the Masters I B group Edwards was followed in second place by Anthony Farnum of Trinidad and Tobago and in third place was another Trinidadian Carlos Greene, a competitor who did not let his visual impairment hinder him from competing on par with the best in the Caribbean. Greene even one-upped himself as he finished second in the 125kg weight class ahead of Farnum and Trinidadian Marvin Jordan.
Ramon Burgos of Puerto Rico also turned in exceptional record-breaking performances and was the man to beat in the 90kg weight class and in the junior category. Burgos outclassed Tony McInerney of the Cayman Islands who finished third in the 90kg weight class which saw an empty second place spot.
His third attempt of 310kg in the squat and 177.5kg in the bench press and his total of 787.5kg set new records for that weight class. In the Junior category Burgos finished in first place again, this time he outperformed the two Guyanese Anis Ade Thomas and Wazeem Immamdeen who finished second and third respectively.
Bhojkumar Jagnarine claimed the Masters I Division in the 110+kg weight class for the home side; he was followed by fellow Guyanese Farouk Abdool and by Jonathan Joseph of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) who finished second and third respectively.
The Sub-Junior category was won by Vijai Rahim (GUY) with Tariq Immamdeen (GUY) following in second place and Jameal Welcome of the Cayman Islands in third.