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Ramstein went beyond, taking home first place trophies in every male and female weight class entered as well as the coveted Best Male Lifter and Team honors Saturday at the U.S. Forces Europe Powerlifting Championships.
Ramstein’s Shannon Carter was crowned as the strongest man for his size at the three-event championships held at U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s Landstuhl Fitness Center and Gymnasium on Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
***image1***Carter said he owes it to Team Ramstein.
“I was hitting stalemate, and I just couldn’t get beyond it,” said Carter, who has been lifting weights since he was in middle school, but this was only his third meet. “But, since I’ve been working out with them (Team Ramstein), I went beyond.”
He did indeed go beyond at the championships, earning his personal best in all three events. His best equaled 665 kilograms, with 230 kg in the squat, 190 kg in bench press and 245 kg in deadlift events. He also took the title in the 82.5 kg male weight class.
Showcasing the talents of eight male and female lifters, Ramstein easily walked away with the team gold and first place honors in five male and one female weight classes.
“It was a good win. We put in a lot of hard work into it,” said Team Ramstein coach Willie Williams, who said the team lifts for about two hours starting at 5 a.m., five days a week at the Southside gym.
Starting it off for Ramstein was Elicia Hill who won in the 56 kg female weight class, lifting a total of 190 kg. She earned Ramstein second place in the female team category.
Ramstein’s success continued in the male categories, taking five out of the six at the championships Horace Youson lifted 597.5 kg and won in the 75 kg male weight class. Jimmy Scott won in the 100 kg male weight class, with 705 kg lifted. Lifting 770 kg, Robin Riley won in the 110 kg male weight class, with teammate, Derrick Baldwin taking home second place, lifting 665 kg. Finally, coach Williams assisted his team by lifting 635 kg, earning the title in the 125 kg male weight class.
***image2***The sole Kaiserslautern lifter was Jesse Bond, who lifted 562.5 kg and earned second place in the 90 kg male weight class. He also went beyond with a personal best in the deadlift event with 230 kg, and earned Kaiserslautern fourth place in the male team awards.
“At the beginning, I was a bit deterred because my first attempt at the squat was no good, but the second one was, and I got more confident,” said Bond, who has lifted for eight years, competing in three bench-press meets, but this was his first three-event competition.
Landstuhl’s only entry was Gary Lange, who took third in the 100 kg male weight class.
Vilseck’s Celesta Hicks-Williams was Best Female Lifter, with 317.5 kg to her credit. She beat out her teammate, Karen Edmond, for first place in the 75 kg female weight class, but they both earned Vilseck the Best Female Team honor.
The championships showcased 19 lifters from eight military communities throughout Europe, as far away as Azores, Portugal. The event was co-sponsored by U.S. Air Forces in Europe Services and Installation Management Agency – Europe Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
