In all his years on the powerlifting scene, Adam Price had never seen anyone lift weights like 11-year-old Mira Pascuzzi.
鈥淪he is the first 11-year-old that I鈥檓 aware of that has ever run the full set,鈥� said Price, co-chair of 100% RAW, the organization behind this past weekend鈥檚 powerlifting competition in Squamish. 鈥淚 was super impressed with that.鈥�
While other young weightlifters have tried competing, Pascuzzi is 鈥� to Price鈥檚 knowledge 鈥� the first lifter her age to complete a squat, deadlift and benchpress in a competition.
鈥淪he was amazing, her form was perfect,鈥� said Price, who also refereed the event.
Indeed, looking at video clips of the event, Pascuzzi can be seen performing a 42.5-kilogram squat 鈥� about 94 pounds 鈥� with hardly a pause.
It was just one of the highlights of the Fist Full of Steel competition, which took place in 麻豆社国产Crossfit.
Another big moment in the competition was the performance from Kailen Smith, who dug deep to set national records in the league.
鈥淗is last squat and his last deadlift were weights that he鈥檇 never attempted before even in practice,鈥� Price said.
Footage of the deadlift shows the 18-year-old stretching out his arms in front of him as onlookers shout encouragement.
After he stoops down to grasp the 612-pound barbell, he lifts the iron with his face strained and finishes the lift with a triumphant whoop. The audience explodes into applause.
It was a big moment, which helped earn him the highest Wilks Coefficient, making him the best pound-for-pound lifter at the event.
The Wilks Coefficient is a system devised to help compare weightlifters of different body masses. Essentially, the higher the number, the better.
A coefficient score of 300 indicates a very strong lifter, while a score of 400 or more is exceptional and very rare.
Smith received an overall Wilks score of about 408.
Other participants include Squamite Cliff Miller, who scored 304 Wilks, and local Cory Constantin, who scored 364.
