World champs bid for Wairarapa lifters

CHAMPIONS: Wai Weight Powerlifting Team members Brett Gibbs (left) and Joel Hintz, respectively world and national record-holding lifters, have each qualified to compete at the IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships in Johannesburg and will be travelling to South Africa to represent New Zealand at the event in June. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

A pair of young Masterton powerlifters - junior world record-holder Brett Gibbs and sub-junior national record-holder Joel Hintz - will represent New Zealand this year at the IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships in South Africa.

Gibbs, 22, and Hintz, 17, are training and competing out of the Wai Weight Private Gymnasium in Masterton. Both athletes last year qualified in their respective divisions for the International Powerlifting Federation world championships that will run for a week in Johannesburg from June 1, says their manager and Hintz' powerlifting father, Tim Hintz.

Mr Hintz, who also trains and lifts out of the Masterton gym, said business sponsors will be sought and fundraisers held to help the young competitors in their bid to compete.

Lead sponsors Bevan and Rachel Mackenzie, owners of Wai Weight Gymnasium, will be holding a fundraising event for the pair at Regent 3 Cinema in Masterton in April, Mr Mackenzie said.

The event will include the screening of a weightlifting documentary, possibly The World's Strongest Man, and an exhibition of powerlifting in the cinema foyer by members of the Wai Weight powerlifting team.

Mr Mackenzie said team members have a dedicated training area and specialised equipment at the gym that includes a new power rack, premium Eleiko weightlifting bars, belts, chains and power bands.

"It's great to be able to support the guys as far as sponsorship is concerned and provide an environment where they can fully develop their potential."

Fellow Wai Weight Powerlifting Team members Danny "Spike" Wilton and Tony Oliver are primary coaches for the two younger athletes, Mr Hintz said, and "we've given them orders to come back from Johannesburg with world records and titles".

Powerlifting consists of three events - the squat, deadlift and bench press - during which competitors lift successively heavier weights in three attempts and their best three lifts in each event comprise an overall total.

Competition is divided into two categories; equipped lifting that allows a supportive bench shirt or squat and deadlift suit or briefs, and raw lifting that is performed without the specialised clothing.

Gibbs, who in December was 12th in the IPF 83kg division world rankings, has since last year held the raw junior world record in both deadlift and total, all New Zealand open and junior records, and all Commonwealth & Oceania records except benchpress for junior and open.

Gibbs also holds all the equipped Commonwealth and Oceania open and junior records except the open deadlift, Mr Hintz said. This will be the last year Gibbs competes in the junior division.

His world record raw overall total stands at 255kg squat, 172.5kg bench press, and 285kg deadlift (a world record for the lift in the 83kg weight class); and in the equipped was respectively 332.5kg, 230, and 280.

Mr Hintz said his son, who will move up a class to junior competition on his 18th birthday, has been competitive since soon after taking up the sport aged 14.

In 2012 he took gold in the 120kg weight grade in the Central Districts and national contests, and at the NZ Record Breakers event and NZ Classic Cup in his weight and class division.

Last year Hintz, who attends St Patrick's College in Silverstream, again took gold in the Central Districts regional 120kg sub-junior class, finished first in the sub-junior 120kg class at the National Champs, and at the National Raw Champs set New Zealand records including 242.5kg squat, 150kg bench press, 242.5kg deadlift, and 635kg total.

In September he broke the Commonwealth and Oceania records with a 230kg then a 245kg squat and holds the record in the raw sub-junior 120kg class with a 630kg total.

Hintz also was a finalist in the Auahi Kore Wairarapa Maori Sports Award for Junior Male in Powerlifting.