Chadelle Bascara, 16, and her uncle Kyle Mischeski, 18, at New Plymouth Airport with the shiny medals they won at the IPF Sub-Junior and Junior World Powerlifting Championships in Malta at the start of the month. Photo / Alyssa Smith
Chadelle Bascara, 16, and her uncle Kyle Mischeski, 18, at New Plymouth Airport with the shiny medals they won at the IPF Sub-Junior and Junior World Powerlifting Championships in Malta at the start of the month. Photo / Alyssa Smith
Two central Taranaki teenagers have brought home the gold, and silver, when it comes to medals from an international powerlifting competition.
Chadelle Bascara, 16, and Kyle Mischeski, 18, competed at the IPF Sub-Junior and Junior World Powerlifting Championships in Malta at the start of the month, winning medals for their weight divisions in the sub-junior category.
Bascara, who competes in the under-63kg category, won gold for her 157.5kg squat and a silver for her 170kg deadlift.
“I’m pretty happy with what I achieved.”
Mischeski was also successful, bench-pressing 170kg and claiming the silver medal for the under-93kg category.
The pair, who flew back into Taranaki on Saturday, are self-taught and train in a home gym in Bascara’s parents’ car shed in Stratford. It’s a family affair as Bascara’s dad is Mischefski’s older brother, so the two young athletes aren’t just friends, but also uncle and niece.
Chadelle Bascara, 16, and her uncle Kyle Mischeski, 18, after arriving home from the IPF Sub-Junior and Junior World Powerlifting Championships in Malta on Saturday, September 14. Photo / Alyssa Smith
Before the event, Bascara and Mischeski dedicated every spare minute to training. In powerlifting competitions, athletes have to complete three lifts - a deadlift, bench press and squat - and the duo spent plenty of time honing their skills across the three lift types.
He said the competition was the “next step up” for them.
“It’s a lot different to competing in New Zealand national competitions. There was a whole different atmosphere to it, it was pretty cool.”
While the pair were in Europe for powerlifting, that didn’t stop them from sightseeing.
“We saw lots of old buildings, especially a lot of old churches,” said Bascara.
“The architecture was pretty cool and it’s a lot different to New Zealand, as in there wasn’t a lot of greenery around.”
Now that they’re home, Bascara and Mischeski will rest and recuperate, as well as prepare for their 2025 competition schedule.
Mischefski will age up into the junior category and compete in the national section of it next year.
“We’ll see how it goes, but it should be good.”
Meanwhile, Bascara is already planning for the world competition, which will take place in Costa Rica, and the Oceania championship, which is run from Christchurch.
