World Powerlifting Championship Success for St Mary’s Alumni

Two members of the Strength Club at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, have been named as the world’s top weightlifters after competing in two world championship competitions this month. Former student Rob Rees, who graduated in Strength and Conditioning Science last year competed in the 105kg open category at the 2013 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Classic Powerlifting Championships that took place two weeks ago in Suzdal, Russia. He lifted a 300kg deadlift, 245kg squat and a 170kg bench press to take 13^th place overall in the competition. Last weekend, current student Aaron Simmonds represented St Mary’s Strength in the 2013 British Drug Free Powerlifting Association (BDFPA) Single Lift World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. Aaron competed in the bench press 60kg category against seven other lifters from countries including Turkmenistan and France. He successfully completed all three lifts, opening on 97.5kg, moving to 102.5kg and finally 105kg. Although lifting in the junior category, Aaron lifted the most in both the junior and seniors in his weight category to become the 2013 BDFPA World Champion. Vice-President of St Mary’s Strength and Head of Powerlifting Ben Richens commented, “Rob and Aaron are fantastic athletes and it is great to have them in the team at St Mary’s Strength. We hope to keep improving together and competing in as many powerlifting meets as possible. We would like to thank our sponsors, Sandy’s Fishmongers, for their continued support.”