Western Canadian Championships - Recap!
March 25/26, 2017, the Western Canadian Weightlifting Championships took place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Athletes competing: Josh Leangen and Coach Rachel Siemens
Coach Rachel competed first and went 5/6 finishing with an 83kg Snatch and a 105kg Clean & Jerk. She won her weight class and also received the title of Best Female Weightlifter. (Not going to comment much more here as I am writing about myself in the third person and it's a bit strange).
Up next was Josh, who had a spicy competition! Josh finished with a 111kg Snatch and a 142kg Clean & Jerk. This increased his best competition total by 2kg - congrats on the PR, Josh! After a clark in his second snatch, Josh was able to come back fearless and nail it on his third attempt! Anyone who has missed a lift that way knows how much determination and guts are required to come back successful - and he did it! Josh also had his first experience with having a good lift overturned by a jury. This can set some lifters back with confusion and doubt, but he came back and absolutely NAILED his second clean and jerk! This performance earned him the bronze medal in the 105+ class.
The Siemens Weightlifting club puts a major emphasis in training on mental strength and positivity - this weekend, Josh put his hard work to the test and came through. Congrats on your first Western Canadian medal!!
