The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championship was held in St. John’s, Newfoundland from Oct. 8 to 15 and saw athletes representing 33 countries lift tens of thousands of collective kilos to find the best in each category.
Canada was well represented by Moose Jaw’s own Ryan Stinn and Mava Brydges.
Stinn has been to IPF World’s eight or nine times, but this was his first time competing in the over-40 Master 1 category.
He competed twice, first in the Classic division, and then two days later in the Equipped division. Classic means no gear that could assist in the lift. Equipped is heavier and uses gear that can add hundreds of pounds on top of what an athlete can lift raw.
In the Classic division, Stinn finished with a 270kg/595lb squat, 190kg/419lb bench, and 310kg/683lb deadlift, giving him a total of 770kg/1,697lb. That total put him on the podium with a silver medal.
In the Equipped division, Stinn put up an 390kg/860lb squat, a 275kg/606lb bench, and a 300kg/661lb deadlift, giving him a staggering total of 965kg/2,127lb.
That performance earned him the gold medal and the title of world champion.
Brydges, 65, competed as a Master 3 athlete in the Equipped division.
She successfully performed a 137.5kg/303lb squat, an 85kg/187lb bench, and a 147.5kg/325lb deadlift for a total of 370kg/815lb.
She also won the overall gold medal and the title of world champion in her category.
“I owe everything to (Rhaea and Ryan Stinn),” Brydges said. She began lifting again in 2017 after 34 years out of the gym.
“I had let myself go, I’d had children, my back was so bad at one time that I could walk (only) 10 steps. And I just slowly, slowly started back. And they did a beginner class at a CrossFit place that I had joined, and it started from there.”
Brydges gives a lot of credit to the Stinns. She trains with them at their gym, and they’ve been with her for four national championships and a silver medal at her first IPF Worlds in 2018.
However, she started lifting on her own in 1981, and she always liked lifting heavy.
“I didn’t want those little pink weights and I didn’t want to wear the bodysuits, the leg warmers, all that,” she laughed. “I wanted to concentrate on really learning to lift heavy weight.”
She won the Western Canadian championship in 1983 — in Moose Jaw — before taking a break to raise her family.
Brydges loves representing her country, but she might not go to the next IPF World Championship in Mongolia.
“I train all the time, I don’t miss a training session, and my life revolves around it sometimes… But I’m getting old, and I love my family… So, I don’t know when I’ll do another Worlds, but we’ll see. Never say never.”
Stinn has been consumed by the sport of powerlifting for decades. He’s had a huge impact as a mentor, coach, and athlete. He is a multiple-time national and provincial champion. He and his wife Rhaea, another champion and world record holder, own Inner Strength Products, one of Canada’s top powerlifting stores.
To become an IPF world champion is a big deal for him.
“It’s emotional. I’ve been lifting since 2005, so it’s been a long time. I’ve always dreamed to win at Worlds, and to be able to succeed and do that, especially at home in Canada, was a pretty nice treat. It was nice to hear the anthem on top of the podium. Yeah, very cool,” Stinn said.
