UNITY — IPF Masters Worlds Powerlifting 2023 was an amazing experience, life-changing even. I got to experience international travel, make new friends and see and do things far outside my comfort zone.
Travel to Mongolia took 24 hours, each way, with the longest flight segment being 12 hours between Las Vegas, Nev. and Seoul, Korea.
We were in Mongolia for three days before I competed, to rest and acclimatize and then enjoyed three days doing some touring after I competed.
I lifted Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. but with the 14-hour time difference, it was 11 p.m. in Saskatchewan on Oct. 8.
The last few weeks of training were interrupted by injury, so I went into competition uncertain of how things would go. My body had healed sufficiently that pain wasn't a huge factor on the day. Strength was not where I wanted it to be, but it makes sense given the focus of my training shifted from peaking to injury management.
I placed sixth out of eight in my age/weight class (M2, 57 kilograms). My fellow competitors were from Great Britain, Norway, Finland, India, the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands and Japan. A huge surprise for me was that I earned a bronze medal for bench press. It was a sweet little victory, especially given the challenges of this meet prep. I made six out of nine lift attempts. My best squat was 100 kilograms, best bench 62.5 kilograms and best deadlift 127.5 kilograms, for a total of 290 kilograms which placed me in sixth.
Game day was an amazing experience. There were three Team Canada coaches who were incredibly supportive and brilliant, getting the best possible performance out of my capabilities on that day. It was fun to watch and cheer for other Team Canada lifters, many of whom are world champions.
I was fortunate to do some exploring after the competition. We went to Hustai National Park with a resident biologist where the previously extinct Takhi horses have been reintroduced to their natural habitat. We explored some sand dunes called "Little Gobi.” The Gobi Desert was about 500 kilometres south of where we stayed.
Just outside of Ulaanbaatar, the city where we stayed, there is a massive stainless-steel statue of Chinggis Khan which was a fun day trip. On the way back into town, we stopped for Mongolian fast food served in a traditional ger (yurt) roadside. It was a delicious meat-filled pancake you eat with your hands.
On my last day, I joined some fellow Canadians for a hike up Bogd Kahn Mountain. It is a sacred site to the Mongolians, rich with Buddhist symbols and history. It was declared a protected site in 1783 (the first in the world) and today is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The six-kilometre trek up the mountain was a lot for me but totally worth the view and the experience.
The whole trip was incredible. I have so many memories and have grown from the experience. I am especially grateful to friends and family who have supported me emotionally and financially to make my first international competition a reality. I appreciate the whole community's continued encouragement in my powerlifting endeavours. I am proud to share this success with you. Now it is time to heal and get back to basics, rebuilding the foundations.
