ITALY 2007

My plan for this blog over the next couple of weeks is to cover the major events in my life in 2007, before moving on to other themes. I'm determined not to turn this into a powerlifting log (I already have two of them on powerlifting forums) but powerlifting is part of what I am and is as good a place as any to start.

The 2007 WDFPF Single Lifts World Championships were held in Pescara, Italy, from 12th to 14th October 2007.

Before going any further, I should perhaps explain the difference between "raw" and "equipped" bench pressing. In equipped lifting, lifters wear bench shirts which offer a degree of support and generally help the lifter to lift more weight, but this varies from lifter to lifter. The downside of these shirts is that you need a big weight on the bar in order to be able to touch the chest - sometimes more than you can get back up again! "Raw" lifting refers to lifting without such supportive equipment.

I'll also explain Masters categories. In BWLA, there are ten year increments between categories. Masters 1 is 40 to 49, Masters 2 is 50 to 59... In BDFPA, there are five year increments, so Masters 1 is 44 to 44, M2 is 45 to 49.... At age 51, I'm a Masters 2 in BWLA and a Masters 3 in BDFPA.

Now that's been explained, I was entered into the Masters 3 Raw and Equipped Bench Press competitions, plus the Open (all ages) Equipped Bench. I was pretty much the favourite for the M3 equipped bench, having broken the M3 world record earlier in the year (of which more in a future post) not by a kilo or two which is the norm, but by 24 kilos!

We flew to Pescara from Stansted. A quick aside - it was MUCH cheaper for me to drive to Stansted from Merseyside and use the long stay parking than it was to take the train. So much for taking traffic off the roads and using public transport!

I travelled with friend Marc Giles and his family, who had combined the championships with a holiday and booked an apartment for the week, and I stayed on the sofabed. On the first day, it was lovely and sunny with the temperature in the mid 70s. We were 50 yards away from the beach so we went for a bit of sunbathing and a dip in the water. Hopefully I can figure out how to add a photo to this account! Honestly, it was a lovely warm sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky. Yet the locals were walking past in coats and scarves looking at us as if we were totally mad.

We were told that the event venue was the Palasport (sports centre) in Montesilvano. So Marc and I went to find the venue so we wouldn't be panicking about making the weigh in the following day. Two hours later, we found the Palasport in Montesilvano - but no powerlifting! It had been there three or four years ago. This year it was in the Palasport in Pescara - a two minute walk from the station where we had sat waiting for a bus to Montesilvano two hours earlier! It wasn't just us, by the way. The UK organiser and his wife, who had provided everyone else with the venue details they had been given, ended up there as well. Apparently there was a brisk taxi trade, taking the tourist route, of course, between the two venues.

On the Saturay, the weigh in was 7.00 to 8.30 in the morning. Raw bench was first, we had two platforms running simultaneously, we were in Italy, chaos ensued. I started warming up as the flight before me was lifting (as you do). After the previous flight, the organisers decided to take a 30 minute break. They didn't tell us, of course. By the time we came to lift, we were completely cooled down again. On my first lift, the spotters didn't help me take the bar off the stands as they should do. Nothing to do with my main opposition being an Italian, of course. Eventually I got it off and nailed 145 kilos; the Italian had really struggled to get 140. My second lift, I nailed 155, and that forced the others to try 155 for their third lifts. None of them made it, so I was world champion before my third attempt, a very tired attempt at 160 which I didn't make.

Opposite problem in the afternoon. We were only given ten minutes notice that we were due to lift. I didn't bother warming up. I was totally exhausted by this time and wanted to conserve what little energy I had left. I opened with 170 in my loose, safe, shirt. That was good enough to win the title. I changed shirts and got 185 with my second lift and was running second equal in the Open competition at this point, eventually finishing third when I missed 190 and England's Neil Thomas made 192.5.

Still, two world Over 50 titles and a third in the Open was a fantastic result. And it was the first time I had ever represented Scotland, which just doubled the pleasure.