Two members of the Athabasca Weightlifting Club travelled to Red Deer on Feb. 1 to compete in the Hokkaido Cup, the first Alberta Weightlifting Association event of 2014.
Jessica McKenna, 17, lifting in the 75+ kg women’s division, snagged a seventh-place finish in the novice class and was successful in all six of her lifting attempts, setting a personal best of 41 kg in the snatch. The snatch requires one fluid motion to propel the weight from ground to fully lifted.
Margo McKenna, 51, while missing her first attempt in the snatch at 35 kg, powered through her first two attempts in the clean and jerk. This lift involves two parts: lifting from ground to chest height, then finishing with a lift above the head. Margo lifted a personal best of 49 kg with this lift style and finished eighth.
“I think it went really well,” Jessica said. “I tried to focus a lot more on what I was doing.” This was something Margo had more trouble with, as she allowed her nerves to get the better of her.
“I did okay,” Margo said. “I got into this when I was 49, and I haven’t competed in anything since high school.”
Michael Mountford, head of Athabasca Weightlifting, thought the pair did well for beginners.
“They did as well as they could in the competition,” Mountford said. “They’re progressing, starting to get out of that beginners stage and starting to lift a lot more weight.
“I expect when they get into April, they will be lifting a lot more weight,” Mountford said.
That’s a good thing, because on April 26, the club will be competing in the Alberta Open in Edmonton.
“We’re training now, a few times a week,” Mountford said. “In the last month, we will revert from a power-type program to a more technique- and speed-based (program) before competition.”
