Records aplenty set at champs

Matt Silvey broke the Oceania, Commonwealth and national record in the deadlift at the...
Matt Silvey broke the Oceania, Commonwealth and national record in the deadlift at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships. Photo: Supplied
Otago powerlifters have shone on the international stage.

Matt Silvey and Charlotte Worley broke Oceania and Commonwealth records at the Commonwealth powerlifting championships in Auckland last week.

David Cooper also set a new New Zealand record in the masters 1 division and Tracy Chipping set five international records in masters 3.

Silvey broke the Oceania, Commonwealth and national record for deadlift at 330.5kg and a combined total weight at 773kg in the junior under-93kg class.

He also set the national squat record with 275kg.

Competing at his first international event, Silvey said he was "stoked" to break the records.

"It was good to see it [and] sort of realise that I can keep up with the best on the world stage," Silvey said.

After taking up the sport last year, Worley broke four Oceania records in the junior under-84kg division.

She squatted 175kg, bench-pressed 102.5kg and deadlifted 200kg to finish with a record total of 477.5kg.

Trailing by 2.5kg heading in to her final squat, Worley, who has previously competed in trampoline and gymnastics, pulled out a "five-second big grind" to take the title.

"Going into it, I wasn’t really expecting it, to be fair," Worley said.

In the masters 1 under-83kg division, Cooper squatted 215kg and deadlifted 257.5kg, equalling the New Zealand record, to win gold.

He also won the overall gold, breaking his division’s national record, and came second in the bench press with 127.5kg.

"What made it really special was the huge amount of support I was getting from everyone back home and all the people in the sport as well," Cooper said.

In the masters 3 under-84kg division, Chipping won one gold and two silvers, and gold overall. She set four Commonwealth records and one world record.

Worley and Silvey both qualified for the world championships in Romania next year.

kayla.hodge@odt.co.nz

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