Valkries and Norsemen at Louis Cyr Contest

Four athletes from the Norsemen and Valkyries Weightlifting club competed for 8 member Ontario squad at the 23nd Annual Young Louis Cyr contest, held in Lachute, Quebec on Saturday. Hosted by the Quebec Weightlifting Federation, this year’s contest drew 139 lifters from in the youth ranks (under 16 years of age). Known simply as “The Louis Cyr," it is the second largest youth meet in North America, next only to the U.S.A Weightlifting’s Annual National School-Age Finals.

Ontario had three gold medalists in the male competition, including one from local lifter, Jake Staples. The 14-year-old Staples, a West Ferris Secondary School student, topped the 56 kilo class by a wide margin. His total, of 128 kilos, included best marks of 58 kilos in the snatch and 70 in the clean and jerk. Alexi Cardinal of Montreal, and Mathieu Doyen of Drummondville, both totaled 111 to take the silver and bronze respectively.

In the next weight division, 62 kilos and under, the two top performers were members of the Ontario team. Patrick Case of London was first with lifts of 68 in the snatch and 81 in the clean and jerk. The runner–up was Kempton Morris of the North Bay. Morris, a St. Joseph-Scollard Hall student, made 62 and 80 for a 142 total. The third place award went to Antoine Bouffard of Montreal.

The final session of the day featured the male over 85 kilo category. Ontario’s entry was Ryan Hunter of the Norsemen. Out of the 10 athletes in the division, Hunter, an Ecole Secondaire Algonquin student, finished in 4th place. He also established new personal bests of 68 in the snatch and 85 in the clean and jerk.

Ontario’s only female participant was Bronwynn Sheppard of the North Bay Valkyries. Bronwynn, a Grade 7 student at Cite des Jeunes, competed in the category designated the “min-Louis Cyr”. The mini-participants, ages 11 to 13, were ranked according to the International Weightlifting Federation’s Sinclair formula, which factors in bodyweight to total kilos lifted. Also added to the mix was a technique score.

The 13-year-old Sheppard, who weighed in at 36.5 kilos, broke her personal records by making 27 in the snatch and 38 kilos in the clean and jerk. By Sinclair formula she scored 130.820 points for a 4th place ranking. The fact that she missed two of her six attempts dropped her down a bit in the technical element. Nevertheless, by final computations, she placed 5th out of the 20 entrants in that section of the contest.

Larry Sheppard acted as the Ontario team manager, while Mark Haaksman served as one of the coaching staff.

Submitted to BayToday.ca