On day 8 of the World Bench Press Championships, we began the classic open competition and it started strong!
In the 47kg class, multiple time world champion Justyna Kozdryk (POL) took a break from competing equipped and won her first classic world championship, taking the M1 European record along the way with an easy looking 97.5kg. Marina Kotelnikova of ROC and Nataliia Cheremenko of Ukraine duked it out for silver in a closely fought battle that ultimately went to Kotelnikova on bodyweight.
In the 52s, another masters lifter, Monika Nyers of Hungary came from behind to beat Ukraine’s Tetiana Shchavinska to the gold with a superb M1 world record of 105kg. Maria Frank of Canada took the bronze to add to her equipped silver medal from a few days earlier.
Ukraine’s Anna Rykun led the 57kg class from the start and had a comfortable enough lead with 112.5kg that she was able to take a punt at the world record with 121.5kg but it wasn’t quite there on the day. Teammate Hanna Buturlym took the silver with 107.5kg and, in a dramatic twist, Melissa Hexter of Great Britain came out for her third attempt with nothing on the board and nailed 105kg to shoot straight into the bronze medal position. Huge relief for her!
With five more weight classes still to lift over two more days, Kozdryk is at the top of the best lifter table and Ukraine leads from GB in the team contest. It’s all still to play for with some exciting benching still to come!
30th October 2021
Post a Comment