A seventeen-year-old County Durham powerlifter has been chosen to represent Great Britain.
Chris Marshall, who has been powerlifting for only one year, excelled at the British Junior Championships at the end of October. As a consequence of this performance, he has been selected to represent his country at the European Championships in March and the World Championships in June 2017.
Powerlifting is a strength sport which has three major lifts: the back squat, the bench press and the deadlift.
In the back squat, the lifter begins with the bar on his or her shoulders then – at the referee’s command – squats down before once more straightening up.
The bench press involves lifting a weight while lying horizontally on a bench. In the deadlift, the athlete must lift the bar up from the floor and get into a standing position.
There are two types of powerlifting. In equipped powerlifting, the athletes can wear special suits and use equipment such as knee wraps. In raw, or classic, powerlifting, the athletes do not use any special equipment of this kind.
Chris Marshall switched from bodybuilding to powerlifting training, with Meadowfield Powerlifters, one year ago. During his first competition, a bench press and deadlift contest in Durham, Chris caught the attention of scouts.
Chris went on to compete in the Yorkshire North East Divisional Championships in June and the British Juniors in October. He now holds 17 divisional records and two British bench press records.
Shaun Clough, strength and conditioning coach at Meadowfield Leisure Centre, said, “We wish Chris every success with the national team and are confident he will be an important addition to the British team’s attempts to secure medals at international level.”
The European Championships are due to be held in Denmark from 12th to 19th March. The World Championships will take place in Belarus between 14th and 25th June.
