Ste. Rose product Bertrand tops weight class at westerns

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This article was published 11/08/2023 (1016 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Riley Bertrand is still getting used to his body at 93 kilograms.

Once he figures it out, look out. The Ste. Rose product still did just enough to win the unequipped male 93kg weight class at the Western Canadian Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships at the Healthy Living Centre on Friday.

He squatted 265 kg, benched 162.5 and deadlifted a whopping 292.5 kg, or 645 pounds.

“It felt good, especially after the way squats went for me. I just wanted to try to come out with the win and managed to just barely pull it off,” said Bertrand, who didn’t reach adequate depth with his second squat, then over-corrected and failed his third to fall into second place early.

“It’s not the meet I wanted so I’m looking forward to provincials coming up and nationals next year.”

Bertrand fell further behind Jacob Paczko, who squatted 270 and benched 180 but made up the 22.5 kg with his second deadlift. Since Bertrand weighed in at 92.52 kg to Paczko’s 92.97, he won gold.

Bertrand, 25, has been training for powerlifting for eight-and-a-half years and competed for the first time at age 18. Until this year, he was in the 83 kg weight class but had his first meet at 93 in February.

It’s a massive difference, but a necessary one for the Brandon University alumnus.

“You’re able to eat a little bit more food, which helps with recovery,” Bertrand said. “When I was 183 (pounds) I always had to cut a lot of weight to make the weight class. You’re in a caloric deficit, you’re trying to keep your weight down, you’re not really recovering as good as you could.

“Being heavier … you can stay healthier. I struggled with injuries a lot but since moving up to 205 I’ve been able to stay relatively injury free and that’s part of training is putting together consecutive training cycles.”

One big difference is the deadlift, which competitors can complete in conventional or “sumo” style, which features a much wider stance with toes pointed to their sides.

Overall, Bertrand still feels he needs to put on more muscle mass and shed some fat to achieve his lofty goals of winning a national title and competing at worlds.

He started on that path to maintain a competitive outlet after his days of Dauphin Clippers basketball, baseball and badminton ended.

Now, it’s a labour of love that makes 15-20 hours per week in the weight room — and another bundle of hours coaching lifters from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the United States — feel nothing like a chore.

As an elementary school teacher in Winnipeg, he impresses his students.

“They think it’s pretty cool,” Bertrand said with a grin. “They think I’m the strongest person ever, so it’s fun.”

NOTES: Former Winnipegger Ben Langley was the top overall male lifter. He squatted 280 kg, benched 172.5 and deadlifted 292.5 in the 83-kg weight class, narrowly beating Connor Lutz on GL points — a formula that calculates lifts with respect to body weight.

The championships continue with juniors today and women on Sunday.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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