The roster is set and it's nearly go time for the World Classic Bench press Championships. It will be held in conjunction with the Equipped Bench Press Championships over 8 days in the glorious sunshine of Sun City, South Africa. Here are some highlights to look out for.
Selma Ramberg Storstad of Norway is the reigning world champion in the 52kg class but she has gone up to the 57s this year. She is nominated with the 114kg she did in Kazakhstan last year, which is still the world record in the 52s. Will the extra bodyweight balance out the increased range of motion? It will be interesting to find out for sure!
Last year's 57kg winner, Anna Rykun of Ukraine, has also gone up a weight class. She holds the 57kg world record at 123.5kg but she's nominated here with 105kg which puts her bang in the middle of the fight for the podium with Elise Rosenborg of Norway and Maj Rames of Denmark. Rosenborg took the bronze in the 63s last year so this is a good opportunity to move up. We usually see Rames lifting equipped so she is something of an unknown quantity here.
This will be the third World Bench Championship for Sweden's Annika Zelander. She won a silver medal at both previous outings. Here she is up against her team mate, Vilma Olsson, and looks well placed to finally bring home the gold.
In the 84kg class, we have the legendary equipped lifter and big bencher, Ielja Strik of the Netherlands. She has been competing for 20 years or more and has won world titles in every discipline. She's not been on top form of late, dealing with one thing or another but it's great to see her on the platform here and nominated just ahead of a newcomer, Amber Russell of New Zealand.
In the supers, it's no surprise to see Hungary's Agnes Szabo at the top of the field. She is unbeaten at this level but she has a new challenger to deal with here - Matilda Hjalle of Sweden who has been improving fast. We also have the biggest (equipped) bencher in the IPF - Hildeborg Hugdal - leaving the bench shirt off for once and taking the fight to the raw lifters.
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