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www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #152 September 2025 5
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Diary of a Weightlifter - A History of Local Weightlifting
By Thorin Gault The sport of weightlifting – or Olympic and Kyle Pichie, and had almost Counties Weightlifting Club. UCWC
style weightlifting – is a relatively instant success with youth lifters Kelly was founded by national level lifters
recent phenomenon in the city of McGillis, and Abby Jurchuk, winning Abigail Chandonnet and Kevin
Cornwall. Locally, bodybuilding has a multiple medals at the national level. Hartwick. This club had success with
history going back to the mid-eighties Pichie was also a national level senior junior lifters Maleeka Virtue and
when Bill Kennedy started organizing lifter and yours truly had success in Brady Killoran, and currently with
the Mr. and Ms. Cornwall competitions. the Master’s division with multiple now senior Andrew Baker.
Both powerlifting and strongman national and Pan Am titles and a world Both clubs survived the chaos
competitions have been hosted in the silver medal. wrought by Covid measures and
city for a couple of decades as well. CWC hosted the Ontario Senior currently CWC is still housed at Quest
As an individual who has been Championships in 2013 at the Nav and UCWC operates out of Summit
heavily involved in weightlifting at Centre and were guided by world Health Club.
the provincial and national levels, I record holder and Olympian, Alex Weightlifters of the year at the Lion’s
am unaware of any local history of the Varbanov, of Bulgaria, in the early Club awards have been Kelly McGillis
sport prior to 2012. years. (also 2014 Jacques Richard winner),
In North America, the popularity of In 2018 Cornwall Weightlifting Kyle Pichie, Thorin Gault (also 2024
weightlifting exploded with the rise Club moved to Quest gym on Montreal Jacques Richard Trophy winner),
of Crossfit, and it was no different in Road, with Pichie now the head coach Abby Jurchuk, Maleeka Virtue, Brady
Cornwall. Tyler Touchette, the founder of the club. Under his tutelage they Killoran, Abigail Chandonnet, and
of the first Crossfit gym in Cornwall, won the top club award at the Ontario Andrew Baker.
started the Cornwall Weightlifting Junior Championships. In 2018 Thorin Gault was the first
Club in 2012. In 2019 another local weightlifting local weightlifter to be inducted into
CWC was coached by Touchette club came on the scene – The United the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame.
