Three athletes from the Lake Trail/Killerwhale Weightlifting Club travelled to West Vancouver on Saturday, Oct. 20 to compete in the Junior Doug Hepburn Weightlifting Championships, hosted by the Capilano Weightlifting Club. All the lifters set Personal Records (PRs) and all three returned with medals.
The Junior Doug Hepburn tournament is a memorial for B.C.’s own weightlifting world champion (1953) and serves as the Juvenile (age 16 and under) championships for the BC Weightlifting Association, explained Lake Trail/Killerwhale coach Ed Lafleur. The BCWA is affiliated with the Canadian Weightlifting Federation, which in turn is affiliated with the International Weightlifting Federation and the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Jakob Rockx, 16 and in Grade 11 at G.P. Vanier, took the gold medal in the 56kg bodyweight category. "Jakob Snatched 46kg on his second attempt to set a PR and then tried 50 but didn’t succeed with that weight," Lafleur said.
"He then made the Clean and Jerk look simple with 59 and then a new PR of 62. For his third he easily Cleaned 64, but rushed the Jerk slightly and wasn’t able to hold the bar. His Total of 108 was a PR and earned him the gold medal," said Lafleur.
Markas Rockx, 13 and in Grade 8 at Lake Trail, was late getting to the platform for his first Snatch and so rushed the lift and missed 35kg. He corrected on his second attempt to set a PR with 35, and Snatched a another PR of 38kg on his third.
"Markas’ training has really paid off and showed again in the Clean and Jerk, where he set a PR on his first lift with 45kg and followed with PRs of 48kg and 50kg," Lafleur said.
Rockx took gold in the 50kg bodyweight category and with his 50kg Clean and Jerk earned the Lake Trail Weightlifting Award for Achievement for 100 per cent of bodyweight. He will be presented with the coveted T-shirt at his next training session.
Aiden Shepherd, 14 and in Grade 9 at Lake Trail, earned the silver medal in the 69kg bodyweight category, improving his Total by 13kg to 138. He made all three of his Snatches, setting PR’s of 55kg on his second lift and 58kg on his third.
"Aiden’s training is paying off as well, and he solidly Jerked 75 with his first attempt, then set a PR with 80 on his second," said Lafleur. "Unfortunately, the selection of 84kg for his third proved too ambitious.
"Where 82 might well have been achievable, 84 was just too heavy to clean properly. With the Clean being caught too low on the chest, Aiden didn’t really have a chance to Jerk it properly. But with his 138 Total he set 4 PRs and had improved his Total by 31kg in the space of one year. Aiden has two years left at this level and with continued improvement could look to set B.C. records before he’s done," Lafleur added.
These and the other Killerwhale and Lake Trail wieghtlifters are now training hard for their next tournament, the A&R Memorial Championships in Port Alberni in February.
– Lake Trail/Killerwhale Weightlifting Club