The challenge of a national competition never fails to bring out the best in a group of Prince George powerifters.
All four Xconditioning athletes turned in record-setting performances at the Global Powerlifting Committee (GPS) national championships/Canadian Powerlifting Federation (CPF) Western Canadian championships last weekend in Calgary.
Tara Green's 451-pound deadlift set a CPF national record in the women's 181-pound equipped weight class. Combined with her 335-pound bench press and 570-pound squat, it was good enough for gold. Green, 23, also won gold in the female equipped bench press competition and was named best overall female equipped lifter.
In her first-ever powerlifting competition, in the raw 132-pound female category (without lifting equipment), Andra Irons brought home the silver medal. She successfully hoisted 242 pounds in the squat, 120 pounds in the bench press and achieved a GPC national record in the deadlift at 286 pounds.
Competing in the 275-pound men's masters 1 class, 43-year-old Mike Webber cleared 550 pounds in the equipped bench-only event and set a national CPF record in the raw category with a bench-press lift of 451 pounds.
Jay Cook, 30, set a world record with his 589-pound squat while winning the 181-pound men's raw class. He also lifted 270 pounds in the bench press and set a national record with a 556-pound dead lift. His three-lift total also set a new national standard.
