The Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) is set to continue its hectic year of competition when the Federation attends its third World Championship this year, which is considered an unprecedented feat.
In June, Carlos Petterson-Griffith attended the World Classic Open Powerlifting Championships in Malta, while in August-September, the duo of Romeo Hunter and Dominic Tyrell represented the Golden Arrowhead at the World Classic & Equipped Sub-Junior & Junior Powerlifting Championships, which took place in Romania.
These athletes are now passing the baton to Nadina Taharally and Roger Rogers, who, on debut, would aim to build on their colleagues’ successful medal hauls in Malta and Romania.
Taharally would be contesting the Masters 1 76kg Class of the World Masters Women’s Classic Championships, while Rogers would be aiming for glory in the Master 11 120kg category of the
World Masters Men’s Classic Championships, from October 8-15, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Both athletes have trained hard over the past year and have expressed confidence that they’ll do their utmost to maintain the rich tradition of powerlifting for Guyana.
Taharally commenced her career in powerlifting in 2015 and has been a force to reckon with locally and regionally. Two years into her career, she made the cut to represent Guyana at the Regional level.
She did so twice at the North American Powerlifting Championships in Orlando, Florida, Uruguay, and Mexico.
Having missed out on competing at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand last year due to visa issues, Taharally, former bodybuilding and Miss Best Legs winner and CrossFit competitor, placed third at the inaugural event in Guyana in 2015.
She said this year will be a defining year in her short but successful career.
Rogers, like Taharally, has enjoyed a short but successful career in the sport to date.
His first competitive lift on the platform was in 2019, and his performance was so good that he made the national shortlist for 2020.
With sports across the board, locally and internationally, being curtailed due to COVID-19, Rogers would be competitive again in 2021 at the NAPF/Pan American championships in 2021, Orlando where he made his international debut, chalking up Pan Am squat and deadlift records in the process.
He missed the Commonwealth Championships last year in New Zealand due to the late issuing of the visa.
That would not be a deterrent this time as both athletes have already obtained the necessary visas and are scheduled to wing out of Guyana on Monday night for Mongolia.
GAPLF President Franklin Wilson has extended best wishes to both athletes on behalf of his Executive and the powerlifting fraternity in Guyana.
“We have been following your progress on the platform, and we do not doubt that you will continue to do yourselves and Guyana proud on the world stage. We are sure your commitment to putting in the hard work will bring the desired rewards when you hit the platform, and we wish you the best.”
Wilson also noted that the year has been very hectic for his new executive as Guyana has already competed at three overseas competitions and has medaled at each.
“We have also been able to run off our statutory competitions locally, the Intermediate and Masters, as well as Raw Nationals, and we will pull the curtains down on what will be the most hectic year for the sport to date in a calendar year, with Senior Nationals on December 10.”
