The 2012 NAPF Raw Challenge is sanctioned under the North American Powerlifting Federation, which is under IPF ruling. It’s a step up from USAPL and a step down from IPF Worlds and was our first international competition (you could compare it to the Pan American Championships with Olympic weightlifting). You can view all of the results HERE.
The primary method of admission to this meet for USAPL members was to lift at the 2011 Raw Nationals and have at least a 375 Wilks total. Only 75 lifters were accepted including Chris, Mike, and Alex. Alex originally planned to lift in the 105kg class, but decided he didn’t want to lose at least 20 pounds, so moved to the 120kg class. Mike originally was going to lift in the 120 class, but figured he would only be able to make 5th place in either class (based on his top numbers), and decided not to worry about losing the weight (he weighed in at 280, so about 16 pounds over the 120/264 limit), especially since he has to do so for an Air Force PFT every six months. Chris lifted in the 120+ class.
All three of my guys were lifting in the same flight. I’ve handled five lifters in the same meet before, yet they were in different flights or sessions. Having three guys in a flight of 15 was a different experience. There were times when Alex and Mike were following each other and Chris was up only five attempts later. I actually missed coaching Alex’s first squat because I was putting Mike’s second attempt in at the table.
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