Seventeen-year-old Devin Benoit from Conne River is proving to be one of the best powerlifters in the province and in Canada.
Devin was up to his old tricks in St. John’s on July 7 as he competed in a power lifting event held at Bishop’s College.
Twenty-five athletes from all across Newfoundland took part in this competition including twelve special Olympians.
Devin has been involved in these competitions for three years and has placed in every competition. His love for this sport is something he dedicates his time to and it has paid of for him after every competition.
Devin worked long and hard to prepare for this event and would spend 10 to 12 hours per week training.
“At this competition, I weighed in light in my weight class of 105kg at 99.7kg bodyweight. At the end of this event, I had set two national records,” Benoit said.
“I did a 260kg (573lb) squat and a total of 665kg which was 25kg more than my total national record. I also set four provincial records, squat, bench, deadlift, and total.
My top lifts were my 260kg squat, 162.5kg bench, and 242.5 deadlift. With these lifts I exceeded the minimum standard to attend the nationals by 200kg or 440lbs.”
In April of 2013 in British Columbia, Devin will once again return to the national stage and compete to be the strongest 105kg sub junior lifter in Canada. This win was a huge accomplishment for him and he is excited about this wonderful opportunity after all his hard work.
“This win gave me my three time power lifting title in Newfoundland. I have been training hard since October of 2011 for this competition and although I was the only person in my weight class, I still had to have the mental competition with myself. I had to stay focused and know exactly what I was going to do once I stepped onto the platform. I trained for my squat and deadlift twice a week and my bench on average 3 times a week,” he said.
Devin gives a lot of credit to his family for their continued support and especially his dad, Bob Benoit for his encouragement.
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