11th IPF Pan-American Powerlifting Championships
 Team USA at the Pan-Am Championships The 11th IPF Pan-American Powerlifting Championship was held in San Paulo, Brazil under the direction of the South American Powerlifting Federation [FESUPO], and the Brazilian Powerlifting Federation. Overall, the championship was an enormous success, with some 150+ lifters from 10 countries in attendance. Each day of the competition, we had a standing room only crowd! I must say, this experience was one of the best I have had at a powerlifting championship in quite some time. The people of South America are truly very warm, kind and welcoming people and it was our pleasure to be a part of their championship. Now, to the results of the Team USA lifters. Day 1 - August 8, 2007 The first day of the Championships was filled with great success for the Team USA. Erin Dickey captured the gold medal in the women's 44kg junior category and the silver medal in the open class as well. Erin polished off a nearly flawless 8/9 performance and finished with a 130 kg squat, 75kg bench press, and a 135kg deadlift for a personal record total of 340kg. In the same weight class, Jonna "JoJo" Ocampo went 7/9 and captured the bronze medal with a 112.5kg squat, 60kg bench press, and 122.5kg deadlift for a total of 295kgs. Great work Erin and JoJo! Interestingly enough, Erin is studying to become a Physical Therapist at Wayne State University and passed her IPF Category II Referee examination with an overall score of 98%! JoJo is a former national physique and fitness star. She currently works as a personal trainer and professional boxing coach. My congratulations to both ladies for a job well done! Priscilla Ribic had another huge performance by capturing gold in the 67.5kg open class! She finished her squats with a 225kg, after having two very close misses with 240kg, which were called on depth both times. From where I was sitting, and in my opinion, the third squat looked low enough. Priscilla went on to finish her bench presses with comfortable attempts of 110 and 130kg. Her final try with 140kg fell out of the groove. Once the bench press was complete, she moved to her specialty the deadlift. After a very easy opener with 230kg, she moved directly to the women's open world record with 252.5kg. Her first stab with the weight, ended with the bar being too far forward and ending with a miss. Unflustered, on her 3rd attempted, Priscilla hoisted the weight effortlessly with room to spare. A tremendous lift, with the lock being filled with one big and grand smile - A video of the lift can be seen here. Afterwards, the stage was flooded by fans and lifters alike to congratulate Priscilla, to the point, where the meet had to be stopped to address the swarming crowd - Simply awesome! Super lifting Priscilla -- More to come in Soelden, Austria! Day 2 - August 9, 2007 On day two of the championship, Lance Slaughter was our only lifter and he convincingly captured the silver medal in the masters [40-49], 75kg weight class. Lance registered 187.5kgs in squat, 177.5kgs in the bench press that was all he had and then some, and 192.5kgs in the deadlift, for a total of 557.5kgs. Lance also took the individual silver medal for the bench press in the open division. This was Lance's first international meet since 2002, and he had much more left in both the squat and deadlift. My congratulations to Lance on a fine performance! Day 3 - August 10, 2007 Day three was a terrific day for Team USA, with two perfect 9 for 9 performances turned in by our athletes. Dr. Larry Maile, el Presidente of USA Powerlifting, started us off with a gold medal in the Masters [40-49], along with a silver medal in the open division. With only a week or maybe even two of training, Larry recorded lifters of 250 kgs in the squat, 180 kgs in the bench press, and 240 kgs in the deadlift for a total of 670kgs. Not only is he a great coach, he is an outstanding lifter -- Great job Larry! How many times does a coach have the chance too handle the "Old Man" at an international championship - this was an tremendous experience for me. In the afternoon session, Mike Womelsdorf, the USAPL California State Chair, followed Dr. Maile with another perfect 9/9 performance and winning the bronze medal in the 100kg weight class, masters II [50-59] age group. Mike registered lifts of 172.5 kgs in the squat, 132.5kgs in the bench press, and 180kgs in the deadlift for a total of 485kgs. Super job Mike! On this day, Lance Slaughter stepped in today and assisted with the announcing, and did a superb job! Day 4 - August 11, 2007 The fourth day of lifting for Team USA was another filled with great success! On this final day of lifting, master lifters Bill Sindelar and Bill Helmich brought home the Gold in their respective master's age divisions and weight classes -- Bill S in the masters 50+ and Bill H in the masters 60+. In addition to the their respective places in the masters divisions, Bill Sindelar took the silver and Bill Helmich took the bronze in the open 110kg, and 125kg classes! My congratulations to these two great sportsmen and gentlemen! Their lifting was phenomenal for men of their ages! Farewell Banquet At the farewell banquet the evening for the last day of lifting, where the final awards for outstanding lifters are traditionally given, I am pleased to report that 5 of 8 USA lifters took home best lifter honors. Larry Maile - 40+, Bill Sindelar - 50+, Bill Helmich - 60+ and Priscilla Ribic for the Womens Open Category. Additionally, Erin Dickey was 1st runner-up in the women's junior category for overall best lifter. Congratulations to each our team members. At this banquet, we presented Lance Slaughter our 3rd place team trophy for his sportsmanship and his unselfish contribution to not only our team, but for him assisting Mr. Conrado with the direction of the competition. Not to be left out, I would like personally and publicly thank JoJo Ocampo for assisting me with the managerial duties in arranging everyone's sightseeing packages, etc. - Much appreciated and great work. Final and Closing Remarks I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Mr. Julio Conrado, the president of FESUPO, and to the Brazilian Powerlifting Federation, as well as to his staff for a simply splendid and superb championship. On this note, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to each member of the USA team. I wish you each continued success. Unquestionably, for me it was both honor and pleasure to be selected as coach for this team. The next IPF Pan-American Championships will take place during 2009 in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is estimated that some 250 lifters from 20+ countries will attend! Interestingly enough, the member federations of FESUPO have opted not to have the South American Regional Championship for 2009 to primarily focus on Pan-American Championship. Likely, the NAPF will follow suit and will only offer our regional championship the year the Pan-American Championships are not held. Additionally, the IPF Pan-American Championships will alternate between the two regions every two years. To close, with emerging international member federation powerhouses like Ecuador and Brazil, the USA Team will have their hands completely filled, and we should begin now to shape and build our team, as they will be doing the same. So, if you have never had the opportunity to take part in an international championship, and would like to attend, please consider such a venture. Thank you! Robert Keller Coach, USA Team 2007 IPF Pan-American Powerlifting Championships San Paulo, Brazil |