2014 has gone and what a year it was. I had a rocky start to the year with two recovering quad tears from the previous years Nationals, where both quads tore during an All-Time Raw WR attempt squat at CAPO Nationals in Hobart. First up was the CAPO State Championships at Slaughterhouse Gym, during the lead up as always I came down with a stomach bug and dropped considerable weight and strength. The plan was to break my 1010kg total record, unfortunately I was unable to do so but I salvaged what I could and set a new single ply squat record of 410kg at under 125kg, I then went on to token bench and deadlift. This made me the only Australian to have squatted 400kg’s or more in two different weight classes. Next up was the CAPO ANZAC International one week later in Auckland NZ. My health had not improved at all but I wasn’t about to give up considering the significance of this event. I entered equipped again (single ply) and managed to squat 400kg again and total 970kg which then gave me the two biggest equipped totals ever by an Australian, and the only Australian to squat 400kg or more in multiple official competitions. In May I travelled to Russia via Dubai with my dear friend and brother Ange Galati for 6 weeks to train with the best and to attend the two biggest Powerlifting events in the world, Super Cup of Titans and Battle of Champions. Both Ange Galati and Odell Manuel competed at Battle of Champions and did our country very proud, it was a real honour to be there in support of these two great powerlifters. I came home and immediately continued work on organising GPA Worlds and my own personal preparation for the competition. I can say it was the hardest project I have ever worked on, and with the tireless support of Karen Coleiro , Steve Harris and our amazing team at CAPO we managed to pull off the most amazing Championships the world had ever seen. Unfortunately during my training for GPA Worlds I tore my right bicep off the bone during deadlifts. The single most gut wrenching thing I have ever experienced during my powerlifting career. I knew the injury was not career ending but given the event I was training for, to me it may as well be career ending. After tons of support from my close group of friends and the entire Australian powerlifting community I was able to get my head right and make a serious effort to still make it to the platform one way or another. I did just that, 300kg squat without wraps and token bench and deadlift to secure a total at my fourth World Championships in a row. Latvia, Argentina, Finland and Sydney. My poorest performance to date but probably my greatest achievement. The after effects of GPA Worlds have been real tough for me personally, I’ve found it hard to get back into the positive and creative mode that I’m usually in, but with the help of my Slaughterhouse crew and some old friends we officially got the Slaughterhouse Clubhouse & Café off the ground. A big thank you to my fiance Justine Hallam for standing with me every step of the way!! You are an incredible support to me and the best mum ever to our beautiful boys. Now 2015 is here I plan to team up with Harris Stability Systems- Australian Powerlifting Supplies and the CAPO family and make this year just as great as last.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 01:52:50 +0000
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