Brenda Hunter, who contributes as a freelance writer for the Empire-Advance, won gold at the Canadian Powerlifting Union Western Canadian Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships. Her gold medal at the Brandon event, which ran Aug. 10-13, came in the Women’s Masters 2 (50-59 yrs), 84 kg category. Hunter’s victory was due to her total score based on success in the best of three classic lifts: squat, bench press and deadlift.
She said that often “powerlifters are stereotyped as these big hulk-like people but that is a misconception. They come in all shapes and sizes.” In her first year of competition, Hunter has quickly come to appreciate various aspects of the sport.
“I love that it is a sport for anyone and everyone regardless of your age or weight or body type. There is literally a class for everyone beginning with young kids and progressing right up to Masters 4 which is 70-plus and all shapes and sizes. …
“I like that it isn't a typical sport in general, let alone a typical woman's sport. I've always been a bit of a rebel and don't necessarily conform to societal boxes. Little wonder I chose a sport like powerlifting. I like feeling strong, pushing my limits and feeling empowered. Even though I've always had an interest in fitness and being fit, I've never considered myself an athlete. In competing in powerlifting, I now realize that I am an athlete. That was a huge ah-ha moment for me, to identify as an athlete,” she said.
Hunter also emphasized she enjoys the camaraderie at the events.
“Everyone is cheering everyone else on and wanting them to do well. In my opinion, in powerlifting, it is more about the competition with yourself rather than against each other. Athletes are competing against the statistics and the numbers and bettering their performance from the last time as much or more than against each other.”
The 56-year-old had thought about trying powerlifting in the past. However, it was not until after the COVID-19 pandemic that she got involved.
“In 2020, I saw a newspaper article on a 70-year-old woman from the Interlake named Susan Haywood that was competing at nationals that year in Winnipeg, and I thought to myself, I want to be her when I'm 70. So, in early 2022 I reached out to the Manitoba Powerlifting Association regarding trainers in my area, and they put me in touch with Joey (Simms), who is the same age as my youngest son. I still didn't act right away, but I finally decided to start training with Joey, and did decide to try out a bench only meet in 2022 to dip my toe in the water, and I must have liked it as the rest, as they say, is history,” said Hunter, who noted that Haywood served as a chief referee at her session on the last day of Western Canadians and won gold herself in bench press on the opening day of the event at 74 years old.
At the Western Canadian event, Hunter broke two of the provincial records that she had set in June. In squat, she set a record with a 112.5 kg/248 lbs effort and deadlifted a record 140 kg/308 lbs. The records she had previously set at the provincial meet for those lifts were 100 kg in squat and 132.5 kg in deadlift. At the Western Canadian meet, Hunter tied the provincial bench press record of 62.5 kg. Her performance at Western Canadians has qualified her for nationals. She is eligible to compete in Prince Edward Island in 2024 or in 2025 in Western Canada.
“This is my first year of competition, so I am thrilled that I did well and proved to be competitive,” Hunter said. “I've always been strong, and I wanted to test it out in competition. In hindsight, I wished I hadn't taken so long to get involved with the sport. I feel I was much stronger when I was actively farming, you know, farm girl strong, not gym strong, and had I discovered the sport 10 or 20 years ago, who knows where it would have taken me? But I'm a true believer that everything happens for a reason, and maybe it took being farm girl strong, and going through all the life experiences I have to this point to prepare me for powerlifting competition.”
