As the World Open Classic Powerlifting Championships 2025 in Chemnitz, Germany, come to an end and the World Games 2025 are slowly approaching, it’s time to look back at the fantastic Luxembourgish performance at the World Equipped Bench Press Championship in Dramman, Norway.
None other than Ankie Timmers won gold with 197,5 kg in a particularly difficult -84 kg class flight that saw a high number of failed attempts. Other big names like German powerhouse Stefanie Kruger did not manage to secure a valid result and nearly half of the starting list ended up being disqualified. Signing up with a third attempt at 207,5 kg after the successful 197,5 lift proved to be a winning strategy, ultimately forcing the other contestants to raise their weights. Neither Kruger nor Silver medallist Airi Sakaguchi from Japan managed to secure the 202,5 respectively 205 kg.
With a gold medal in Equipped and 5th place at the Classic Worlds, things are looking bright for the upcoming World Games, which Timmers will compete in under the Luxembourgish flag for the first time.
3 was the winning number for Masters III Mark Notschaele who, after missing his first 2 attempts, proved anybody who had counted him out wrong with a strong 217,5 kg performance in the +120 class. Coming back after narrowly avoiding disqualification is no easy feat and requires tremendous focus and mental strength.
In the Masters II -105 kg class, Vincent Matthew pulled off an impressive series of all-white attempts. rising up from 190 to 202,5 kg and securing 7th place out of 12. After a rockier start in the Classic division – all 3 Luxembourgish athletes competed twice -, things looked significantly smoother in the Equipped competition.