Belizean Powerlifts Clean Up At N.A.P.F. Championships

A team of Belizean powerlifters is in the U.S. competing in the North American Regional Powerlifting Competitions. The competition began on Monday, and late into the week, team Belize racked up numerous medals. Today we spoke with three of those medalists, including Amorette Banman, who competed in the sixty-three-kilo sub junior female category; Leo Matura, who competed in the seventy-four kilo open division; and Shakira Oxley Tsai, who competed in the master two category. In total, these three athletes have racked up eleven medals.

 

Amorette Banman, Belizean Powerlifter

“So I got three gold medals and one silver. I got gold in the squat event.  I got silver in the bench press. I got gold in the deadlift, and I got gold overall.”

 

Paul Lopez

“How does it feel for you after all the preparation and hard work?”

 

Amorette Banman

“It feels really good. Last year I had a pretty bad competition. It didn’t go as planned. I failed. So I promised myself I would work harder throughout the year and then I came back and got my redemption. It feels really good.”

 

Leo Matura, Belizean Powerlifter

“Bittersweet to be honest. I am very happy about what we achieved at this meeting here. We medal and hit placement in certain categories out of the three disciplines. Personally, I wanted to have a greater total that would have put me in contention for the bronze in the overall. But, we take it one day at a time. This sport is not a sprint, it is a marathon. It is something that you can’t be fixated on in just a moment. It is just a consistent thing, and your primary goal is always improving. The totals for those for the bench press was three hundred and forty pounds and deadlift was five eighty-five. We could have got six hundred and five but I lost grip, and it was not a strength issue, my hand literally had ripped there.”

 

Shakira Oxley Tsai, Belizean Powerlifter

“I was able out of all the athletes that competed in my division, I had the third highest overall total. I also got medal bronze medal for squat, bronze medal for bench and a bronze medal for deadlift.”

 

Paul Lopez

“How do you feel about that?”

 

Shakira Oxley Tsai

“Pretty good. I am entering into my fifth decade of life, so being able to compete in the sport that I truly enjoy, really gives me another sense of accomplishment and I am happy to be able to do that under the Belize flag banner too.”