The first day, Saturday, was set for the women and "light weight" men – meaning, men who weigh between 56 and 67.5 kg.
A good crowd had formed at the food court area in the basement where a makeshift stage had been set up. The first and second floors, which had a view of the stage, were fast filling up with people. Kathy, as well as the other powerlifters, had each chosen their corner in the court area and were getting last-minute coaching from their trainers.
Before the contest proper, the competitors were weighed to determine their weight class. This was followed by a warm-up for the first event – the Squat. For this event, Kathy wore her favorite Powerpuff T-shirt and over it, a power suit, so called because it’s thick, tight and supports her back when she lifts those heavy weights. To complete the outfit, she wore a thick canvas belt and knee wraps, also for protection.
Ready . . . set . . . and Kathy stood in front of the barbell bearing 110 kg. weights. Two people put the barbell on Kathy’s shoulders. She did a squat and then stood up straight with the barbell still on her shoulders, held it for two seconds, and put it back on the rack. It’s a good lift!
Everyone took turns, and got three tries – each one heavier than the last – and then the winners were announced.
There’s a 15- minute break so competitors can change clothes for the next event, and viewers can do some quick window-shopping to get rid of the stress from watching these athletes carry those weights on their shoulders.
The next event was the Bench Press. Kathy, in a blast shirt this time, lay down on her back on a bench. Two people handed her the barbell with 67.5 kg. weights. Kathy stretched her arms, brought the barbell to her chest, held it for a second, raised it for another second. When the referee shouts "Rack!" she puts the heavy mothers back on the rack.
Three tries, a break, and you know the rest.
The third and final event was Kathy’s favorite – the Deadlift. She picked up a barbell of 140 kg. weight, stood up straight with her knees locked and held it up for two seconds. Bog! It’s an unbelievable lift and Kathy had just broken her personal record. Here are her scores: Squat, 110 kg.; Bench Press, 67.5 kg.; and Deadlift, 140 kg. That’s a total of 317.5 kg.
Whew! Kathy, will you help me move house?
"That was the heaviest I have lifted in my entire life," Kathy said. She attributes her success to two men, her personal trainer Nikki Orosa and her coach Rene Dio.
No victory party for our champ. Kathy said she used up the last of her adrenaline in the Deadlift. After the competition, she could only drive herself home and rest her arms. She did have enough strength to eat a bag of Doritos.
"I’ve been on a diet for two weeks now," Kathy confessed between munches.
Since they were both in the 67.5 kg. weight class, Kathy competed against C.J. Junterial, who also gave an impressive performance, carrying weights close to Kathy’s load. But like the movie said, there can be only one.
Other women who participated in the competition included: Yolly Mendigoria, who’s in the 48 kg. weight class and Sherill Salamat, who’s in the 52 kg. category. Salamat is already a member of the Philippine Powerlifting Team.
In the men’s category, Tony Taguibao (56 kg.), who had won gold in Squat, Bench and Deadlift events in the recently held World Master Powerlifting Competition in Canada, outdid himself. That afternoon, he lifted 185 kg. in Squat, 87. 5 kg. in Bench Press, and 200 kg. in Deadlift.
Seventeen-year-old Anton Sevilla (67.5 kg.), broke records in the sub-junior category, one of which was the 255 kg. Deadlift. Twenty-six-year-old Richie Rosales (67.5 kg.), who’s with the Philippine Powerlifting team, broke records with his 175 kg. Bench Press.
Kathy looks forward to competing in the Asian Powerlifting Championship which will be held in Pusan, Korea in March next year. She says, "It is every athlete‘s dream to compete for the country. Hopefully, I can do the same."