Lecheminant tops at bench in major meet

While two international power-lifting events in a month might seem like a lot, Orson Lecheminant didn’t let it weigh him down.

The 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Crocus Plains competed on Sunday at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Federation Championships in Winnipeg less than a month after he suited up for Canada at the Powerlifting World Championship in Sun City, South Africa.

The event in August was his first time lifting for Team Canada.

“It was a crazy experience,” Lecheminant said. “I loved it. I travelled on my own so far away from home. South Africa is so far away. I was there alone taking care of myself competing amongst the best, literally the best people, world records all around.

“It was nuts. It was so cool to be there. I felt some imposter syndrome but at the same time, it was ‘I earned it bro, I got the invite.’”

While he finished 13th in his division on Aug. 21, Lecheminant was one of just two 2010-born athletes, with 2008-born lifters taking the top five spots. The 16-year-old lifter squatted 160 kg (352.7 pounds), bench pressed 120 kg (264.5 lbs) and deadlifted 185 kg (407.8 lbs) for a total of 465 kg (1,025.1 lbs) in the 66-kg sub-junior division.

The squat and deadlift were new personal bests, while the bench press tied his best-ever lift.

The biggest problem may have been rebounding to compete again. He had months to prepare for worlds, but by the time he got home on Aug. 27, he had just three weeks to train for the Commonwealth event on Sept. 20.

He got back in the gym the day he set foot in Brandon, and concentrated on eating and sleeping all while starting his Grade 11 year at Crocus. In addition, he works two jobs and had to make up for his time away.

“It probably took me a week and a half to feel half decent,” Lecheminant said. “I was nowhere near good. When I got back, I would touch my quads or hamstrings, and they were sore. It was bad. I couldn’t walk down the stairs without pain.”

When he finally started trying to lift heavy weights again, it wasn’t easy, although he did match his best-ever bench press in the gym. He pulled back on the intensity and volume of his training, instead lifting lighter weights and trying to keep going through the movements.

The Commonwealth event was held at the Holiday Inn Express Winnipeg Airport, so he headed in the day before with his parents as he tried to get his weight under control. He arrived in Winnipeg two kilograms or four-and-a-half pounds heavy for his 66-kg class.

He quit drinking water for the day and didn’t eat after dining on two Snickers bars at 3 p.m. — “They’re very calorie dense and they don’t take up very much room in your gut and don’t weigh anything” — took a hot bath and by bedtime he was 66.6 kg. The next morning he was 65.9 kg, but he was starving.

“I was having dreams all night about food,” Lecheminant said with a laugh. “My parents told me in the morning I was sleep talking about bacon all night.”

He began lifting on Sunday at 7 a.m., with the advantage of having several people there to watch him.

Competitors get three opportunities at the squat, bench press and deadlift, with their highest total from each combined into their final score.

In his three squats, Lecheminant successfully lifted 150, 157.5 and 162.5 kg, with the last lift setting a new personal record.

“I was super stoked about that,” Lecheminant said. “I was shocked it happened because in the warmup room, I didn’t feel very good.”

In bench, which is his specialty, he lifted 115 and 120 kg, tying his personal best.

“That had secured first place in the bench press,” Lecheminant said. “It secured the gold medal by 7.5 kilos, which is a pretty sizeable gap. I benched 120 kilos on my second attempt, but even if I failed that, I still would have gotten the bench gold medal. I secured it with my opener.”

Knowing he had already won the event, he put what would have been a personal best of 122.5 kg on the bar but couldn’t lift it.

“I took home bench gold for Canada in the U18 at 16, so I was feeling pretty good,” Lecheminant said.

On the deadlift, he hit 165 and 177.5 kgs, and with 187.5 kg on the bar for his final lift, set another personal best. His final score of 470 kgs was also a career high as he finished fourth despite recently turning 16 and competing against 18-year-old lifters.

The winner, Cameron Wass of England, lifted 525 kg, with the other lifters coming from Australia, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“I’ve had a taste of all of it now,” Lecheminant said. “(On Sunday) I stood in first place on the podium for one of the events at an international competition, which is a pretty cool feeling. I’m 16, and to have the best U18 bench in the Commonwealth in my weight class is pretty cool.”

His next event is nationals, which isn’t until next February in Nanaimo, B.C., so he’s planning to take a bit of time off.

“I need an off-season,” Lecheminant said. “I can’t keep jumping into competitions … You can’t just go competition to competition because then it leaves no time to grow.”

Of course, that means he’ll only take about a week completely off from the gym.

It will likely be his last event at 66 kgs, since he is planning to move up to 74 kg. That will allow him to pack on more muscle and get even stronger.

At five-foot-eight, he’s also tall for the weight class, which at the elite level is dominated by competitors several inches shorter.

“It gets to the point where my frame is too big to fit this weight class,” Lecheminant said. “There is a lot more potential for me in a heavier weight class … I’m just seeing what my body is capable of with another 15 pounds of body weight.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com