MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- At this point, Moose Jaw’s Mava Brydges likely has so many medals from powerlifting competitions that finding a space to display them all would almost be as difficult as the lifts themselves.
But even at age 67, Brydges is still going strong, quite literally.
Brydges was once again in action at the International Powerlifting Federation Bench Press Championship recently in Austin, Texas, and she once again came home with a couple of medals -- this time winning silver in the Masters 3 Equipped 76 kilogram division in addition to claiming silver with Team Canada’s Masters 3 team.
Brydges cleared 95 kg (209 pounds) on her first of three lifts, but just couldn’t quite finish off 100 kg (220 pounds) in her final two attempts.
“I didn’t exactly get what I wanted, I was shooting for 100 at this lower bodyweight and got 95, then I got 100 up, but there was a bit of up-and-down movement in it, so no lift,” Brydges said of how things went. “I just couldn’t quite do it, but it was really close.”
To be clear, this is a 67-year-old woman narrowly missing on a 220-pound bench press, a weight that many men in their prime would have issues with.
But Brydges is more than used to this kind of thing, and the disappointment of missing her last two lifts was tempered by the fact she was able to get at least one in the books.
“To be honest, at my age, I’m just happy that I got a lift in and I did well,” she said. “There are a lot of people who train for worlds and it’s just the three lifts for bench, and many of them don’t get one lift in. I got my opener in, it was wonderful, it was easy, there was no reason I shouldn’t have got 100, but I just couldn’t quite get it.”
Brydges ended up finishing second to the United States’ Donna Marts, who at three years Brydges’ junior cleared 105 kg (231 pounds).
There was some consolation in the second-place finish, though -- Brydges 95 kg lift set a national record in the Masters 3 division.
“I still walked away happy, and our Masters 3 team ended up winning a silver medal for Canada, so I was really happy with that, too,” Brydges said.
While Brydges was taking her run at a medal, fellow Moose Jaw competitor Rhaea Stinn just did what she always does.
A bench-press specialist, Stinn picked up yet another world championship by clearing 210 kg (462 pounds) and not missing on any of her attempts, which saw her hit 200 kg (440 pounds) on her first lift and 207.5 kg (456.5 pounds) on her second.
Stinn would also finish third among all lifters when the IPF bodyweight equation came into play, another feather in a very full cap.
Brydges trains with Rhaea and husband and coach Ryan Stinn, and having them in her corner is always a positive, she said.
“It’s always so much fun watching her, and she makes it look so effortless, and having Ryan in that same corner is amazing,” Brydges said. “I travel with both of them, and even though Team Canada has coaches, I’m lucky enough that Ryan is still able to coach me there.”
Brydges is now turning her attention to the Canadian Powerlifting Union championship next February, where the goal is to take a shot at all three lifts and ideally a national title.
“I’ve having some osteoarthritis issues in my knees and that’s causing me some difficulty squatting and what not, but I’m working with a sports medicine person in Regina and he just wants me to keep going as long as I can,” Brydges said. “So I’ll back off from world competition for awhile and see what happens… you never know what’s going to happen at this age, so I’ll just see what I can do and make sure I can compete next year.”
For complete results from the IPF World Bench Press Championship, be sure to check out .
