Henderson weightlifters set world and national records at an April 6 competition at The Pit in Evansville.
Bruce Thomas set a world record in dead lift and a national record in squat for his weight class and division, and David Petrie set a national record in dead lift for his weight class and division.
Meanwhile, Anthony Burress didn’t set any world or national records but take over a longstanding top spot on The Pit’s leaderboard for dead lift that takes into account the best lifts of competitors who’ve ever trained at The Pit.
The lifters were competing in Single Event Nationals put on by the American Drug Free Powerlifting Federation. All three train at the John F. Kennedy Center, where Thomas is the facility supervisor, and at The Pit on the weekends, Thomas said.
Burress’ new top position on The Pit leaderboard is for dead lift in the 220-pound class, which coincidentally, had been held by Thomas, who earned that spot with a 633-pound dead lift in 2014. Burress dead lift was 639 pounds.
Before the competition, Thomas, who trains Burress, told him that he had it in him to take over his spot. Thomas said Burress wasn’t so sure. After, Thomas said Burress could have lifted even more, and he has a shot to set the world record in the 220-pound open class—which is 711 pounds.
Petrie, meanwhile, set a national record for the ADFPF for his weight class, also 220 pounds, and division, which is Masters 6, or ages 65-69. Thomas said he, too, has it in him to do more. Petrie dead lifted 398 pounds.
“He had plenty to spare,” said Thomas, who added Petrie could have probably lifted 415-425 pounds “as easy as 398 was.”
Petrie also won his weight class and division in bench press with a 225-pound lift.
Thomas rounded out Henderson’s participants by setting a world record in dead lift for the 220-pound weight class in the Masters 5 division, which is for participants 60-64 years old. He dead lifted 540 pounds.
He said he was unsure if he’d be able to compete last weekend because he’d been sick much of December and early January and his weight had fallen to 188 pounds, almost 30 pounds off his normal 217-pound frame.
Since mid-January, Thomas had recuperated the strep throat and pneumonia that had dogged him, had begun to put weight back on (he weighed in at 212 for the meet) and had got back into his training regimen. As the competition neared, he thought, “I might as well” enter and see what he could do.
Thomas also broke a national record for squat in his age and weight class. He squatted 463 pounds. On his next attempt, he went for a world record 490 pounds but barely missed after his upper body tilted forward slightly and caused his upward momentum to stall.
