The first day for the Luxembourgish delegation at the World Men’s Classic Bench Press Championships in Drammen (Norway) had a few surprises in store. With both Mark Notschaele and Matthew Vincent stepping on the platform, 2 out of 3 nominated Luxembourg athletes held their debut at the bench press world stage. Notschaele started off with a shaky 162,5 in the Masters 3, +120 kg weight class, but was, in his own words, promptly set straight by national coach Alain Hammang and coaches Ankie Timmers and Matthew Vincent. The 167,5 looked a lot more confident. The third attempt was the one that would shake up the podium, with the athlete and coaches deciding to go for a 175 national record and securing 4th place. While the remaining athletes had to bench at least 177,5 for a medal, only Germany’s Thorsten Schult succeeded with this weight – and of course US-athlete William Campbell who played in a whole different league (187,5). This bronze medal and new Luxembourgish record (7,5 kg above the previous one) raised the confidence levels for the upcoming Equipped championship.
In the masters 2, -105 kg weight class, things didn’t go exactly as planned for Matthew Vincent. After two easy-looking attempts at 150 and 157,5, the 162,5 were missed because of a timing error. The athlete started bringing the bar down before the starting signal and therefore had to cancel the attempt. While this would have been a new national record, the final placement in the ranking wouldn’t have changed. Vincent finished 12th, with the certainty that his previous and now confirmed record can be repeated with ease. Overall winner of the M2 -105 category is Germany’s Konrad Burghardt, who defeated Chris Walter – both benching 215 – with a lighter body weight.
Next up in the classic championship is Ankie Timmers on Wednesday, 21st May, 13:30.
The Equipped championship starts next week with the following schedule for the Luxembourg athletes:
22.5., 12:00: Mark Notschaele (M3 +120)
22.5.: 18:00: Matthew Vincent (M2 -105)
24.5.: Ankie Timmers (Open -84)