The 1st Annual WPC/AWPC CanAm BenchPress Championships was a success.  66 benchers from 7 states and Canada were in attendance. Many World records were set on July 21st in Detroit.  Date for the 2nd annual event will be announced within the next 6 weeks.

 

The Morning session was two flights of raw, with the biggest raw bench belonging to Wade Liken of Girard, OH  at 242.5kg (534.6#).  Best Raw Benchers were Natalie Van Horn of Novi, Mi (Master Women), Tracey Draher, of St Johns, Mi (Open Women), Robert Ingram of Romulus (Master Men),Gary Knuerk of Canton, MI (Open Men).  Special awards were received by Mark Zartarian (first entry of the session), Ken Thunberg (furthest travel – California), and Robert Ingram (Closest to Venue).

 

The Afternoon session was two flights of equipped benchers.  The Biggest Bench of the day belongs to Roger Ryan with a push of 335kg (738#).  Three equipped benchers went 3 for 3, they were Rudy Wernz with a push of 255kg(562#), Eric DeCaires 310kg (683.4#) and Danny Rodrigues 227.5kg(501#).  The biggest attempt of the meet was Jimmy Kolb who attempted a 412.5# (909#) push which caused a little apprehension!  Best Equipped Benchers were Darilyn Dody  of Port Huron, MI (women open), Roger Ryan of Decatur, Il (Master Men), Tom Waldrep, Cedar Rapids, IA  (Open Men), and Richard Singh of Guelph, ON (Junior).  Special Awards were given to Bruce Darley (furthest travel American, California), Richard Brown (Furthest Travel Canadian), and Dean Yannacci (first flight entry).

 

Bruce McIntyre presented two special awards for Canadian participants.  Richard Brown and Rich Singh received their invite to WPCs to represent Team Canada that included getting their hotel room paid.

 

Overall, good comments were received about the venue, the judging, the platform crew and the overall meet efficiency.  The biggest factor in making this meet a success was the benchers who participated.  Many new friends were made on July 21st in Detroit.

 

Complete results can be seen at:

 

Morning Raw: http://www.michiganapf.com/Raw%20Results.pdf
Afternoon Equipped: http://www.michiganapf.com/EquipResults.pdf