World titles for Masterton powerlifters

WORLD ELITE: Brett Gibbs (left) and Joel Hintz broke multiple world records on their way to gold at the IPF Classic Powerlifting World Championships 2014 in South Africa at the weekend.

Two Masterton powerlifters have seized world championship titles after shattering multiple world records at the IPF Classic Powerlifting World Championships 2014 in South Africa.

Brett Gibbs, 22, and Joel Hintz, 17, had competed late on Friday and Saturday nights at the event, in Muldersdrift, near Johannesburg, contested under raw lifting rules where the athletes do not wear specialised clothing.

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.

Bevan Mackenzie, owner of Wai Weight Private Gymnasium in Masterton where the pair first started in the sport and still train, said Gibbs, competing in the 83kg junior class, broke world records with each of his squat lifts and took an open world record with his third successful squat of 280kg.

Gibbs also took a bronze medal with a bench lift of 185kg and broke junior world records with each of his three deadlifts, with his third successful deadlift of 305.5kg, taking gold.

His total of 770.5kg was an open world record, Mackenzie said, which comprised seven individual world records and put Gibbs 50.5kg in front of the second place-getter in his division.

Mackenzie said Hintz, who at 107kg had competed in the sub-junior under 19yrs/120kg class, recorded a sub-junior world record squat of 265kg , a bench of 160kg, and a deadlift of 250kg.

Hintz' total of 670kg was a world sub-junior record total that put him 97.5kg ahead of the second place-getter in his class, which was "amazing for a 17-year-old", Mackenzie said.

"That's two world champions, not only from a small town like Masterton but from our gym. Legend - we are all proud of you both here at Wai Weight."

Wai Weight powerlifting team members Danny "Spike" Wilton and Tony Oliver were primary coaches for the world champion powerlifters along with Hintz's father, Tim, who accompanied the pair to South Africa as team manager.

Mr Mackenzie said the Wairarapa gym was carving out a welcome reputation as "the home of world champions" with the two powerlifting crowns joining a world amateur title Muay Thai belt seized last month by Wai Weight member Zane Hopman.

Hopman had also taken the Wairarapa Times-Age 2014 Sports Awards Senior Sports Personality of the Year title and the Supreme Champion award last week.

Since last year, Gibbs has held the raw junior world record in deadlift and total, all New Zealand open and junior records, and all Commonwealth and Oceania records except benchpress for junior and open.

He also holds all the equipped Commonwealth and Oceania open and junior records except the open deadlift. This is the final year Gibbs will compete in the junior division.

Hintz took gold in the 120kg weight grade in the Central Districts and national contests in 2012, and at the NZ Record Breakers event and NZ Classic Cup that year 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 will move up to the junior class of competition when he turns 18.

Hintz thanked his family, friends and supporters in a Facebook post and Gibbs posted a video to YouTube to voice his gratitude to supporters.

Gibbs also thanked his parents as his main supporters and hoped he had "made you all proud".