Local weightlifting siblings hoist medals at Canadian Championships

Local weightlifting siblings hoist medals at Canadian Championships

Two weightlifting siblings from Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Xavier and Naomie Lusignan, took part in the Canadian Senior Weightlifting Championships in Halifax Nova Scotia over the weekend, taking home some hardware in the process.

Xavier, having won the competition last year in the 96 kg weight class, moved up to the 102 kg class this year and once again came out on top. He lifted 156 kg (344 lbs) in the snatch and 197 kg (433 lbs) in the clean and jerk to claim the gold medal overall. He said that both lifts were personal bests, and hitting them on such a big stage was a little nerve-racking.

Xavier will be competing in a qualifying tournament in Toronto this summer with the goal of competing the IWF Word Championships in Bahrain in December. He explained that qualifications are based on total weight lifted, and he’s aiming to put up around 360 kg.

Though Naomie still qualifies to compete at the junior level, the 18-year-old held her own in the tougher senior competition, placing fourth overall with a bronze medal in the clean and jerk (115 kg or 253 lbs). She said that she had some issues with the snatch lift, missing two attempts at 90 kilos, which she attributed to the stress of a big competition. She added that making all her clean and jerk lifts and hitting a personal best of 115 kilos went a long way to making up for it.

She said that she’s looking forward to competing in the Canadian Junior Championships in June and travelling to Spain for the World Junior Championships in September.