Page 5 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 152
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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.
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