The Silverbacks set the most new records and won the men’s trophy, SC Hamm came out on top with their women’s team, and the new club Valhalla fought valiantly to take second place: for the first time in a long while, three clubs competed at Coupe de Luxembourg on June 28 in Hamm.
Not only the temperatures were record-breaking: in the height of summer, around 40 powerlifters spared no effort to represent their clubs at the State Cup and the PWFL Cup. All three clubs – Silverbacks, SC Hamm and the Valhalla Powerlifting Club, founded just a few months ago – entered the fight with both a women’s and a men’s team, with the high number of female athletes, particularly from the younger generation, standing out.
For the team score, the results of the four athletes with the most good lift points were taken into account. In the end, SC Hamm came out on top in the women’s competition with 258,97 points, ahead of Valhalla with 218,83 and the Silverbacks with 190,8. The Silverbacks, however, clearly dominated the men’s competition: the Koerich-based club racked up 349,71 points. Once again, the Valhalla warriors put up a spirited fight and secured second place with 219,29 points. Due to illness and injury, SC Hamm had to contend with several absences, but Ben Feiereisen bravely held his ground and scored 75,18 individual points.
Team scores of the Women’s Cup
1. SC Hamm 1970 with 258,97 points (Lara Fischbach 75,27 points, Marina Alexandreas 62,48, Hajar Naji 61,15, Laura Giacomini 60,07)
2. Valhalla Powerlifting Club 218,83 (Diana Macedo 73,02, Meggie Gengler 59,07, Ijeoma Uhuegbulem 54,12, Charlotte Kalmes 33,62)3. Silverbacks (Fiona Muller 68,45, Nathalie Hierzig 68,18, Luna Pepin 54,17)
Team scores of the Men’s Cup
1. Silverbacks 349,71 (Mirco Macchi 94,89, Florian Stronck 86,41, Aaron Ferreira 86,41, Yoan Silva Simoes 82,00)
2. Valhalla Powerlifting Club (Anthony Kiesch 71,86, Oskar Lubienicki 71,34, Max Serra (42,29, Louis Buselli 33,80)
3. SC Hamm 1970 (Ben Feiereisen 75,18)
Coupe PWFL on the other hand was created to give athletes such as club members living abroad, those who do not yet meet the requirements to compete for Luxembourg or the federation or those holding a ‘Loisirs’ licence a chance to get a taste of competitive sport.
Andya Witjes won by a landslide with 74 points; despite her young age, she can already squat 140 kg, bench press 77,5 kg and deadlift 155 kg. The podium was completed by Silvia Troiani with 71,44 and Jaxy Witjes with 58,29 – just ahead of Erin Breland-Carnazzo, who scored 57,80 in her first competition. The men’s competition was also characterised by commanding performances and a close final result: Giulio Mazzanti took first place with 56,89, closely followed by Kay Corral with 56,03.
With such a large number of participants, there was no shortage of highlights, records and personal bests. Here is a summary by individual discipline.
Strong squats
It wasn’t planned, but in the end Florian Stronck (-74 kg) and Aaron Ferreira (-105 kg) not only scored exactly the same number of points, but also each set new national records in the squat and deadlift. Stronck, in top form, broke the record twice with lifts of 220 and 230 kg, whilst Ferreira raised the bar to 250,5. However, the 122,5 by Nathalie Hierzig, 125 by Silvia Troiani, 225 by Timon Seul and 192,5 by Edwin Wilson are also promising for the future. Brian Spoo (-120) also achieved a personal best with 235.
The bench press masters
Bench press highlights: Particular mention must be made of Marina Alexandreas’s personal best, as she broke the 70 kg barrier and subsequently served as a competitor, and Hajar Naji’s 62,5. But Diana Macedo, Fiona Muller, Meggie Gengler, Nathalie Hierzig and the youngest competitor, Jaxy Witjes, also managed to bench press almost their own body weights.
New national records were set by Anthony Kiesch with 177 kg in the 105 kg class and Florian Stronck with 145. Kim Erpelding proved once again with 167,5 that this is his strongest discipline, whilst, amongst others, newcomer Loris Erpelding with 105 at a body weight of under 74 kg and the very young Thibault Mergaux (125, -93) are well on their way.
The deadlift specialists
For many powerlifters, the deadlift is the event in which the heaviest weights are lifted – and this was certainly the case for Mirco Macchi, who lifted a staggering 310 kg to thunderous applause. It goes without saying that the -93 kg athlete broke the Luxembourg record in the process. The records set by Aaron Ferreira and Florian Stronck, mentioned earlier, stood at 287,5 and 210 kg respectively. Yoan Silva Simoes raised the national record in the -66 kg category to 200 kg. Ben Feiereisen and Oskar Lubieniecki achieved personal bests of 240 and 245 kg respectively. For Kylian Grethen, Max Serra, Jakob Juznic, Joao Bomfim and Francesco Fiorentino, too, the deadlift was their strongest discipline and several of them were competing in one of their first meets.
In the women’s event, it was above all ljeoma Uhuegbulem’s 170 kg (+84) who caused a stir. The next target is the national record, as the athlete has announced. But Diana Macedo is also on the hunt for records and, with a deadlift of 131, not only set a new national best but also lifted three times her body weight. Powerlifting requires patience: Charlotte Kalmes, who only recently started training, confidently lifted 75 kg in her first competition.
Overall best female athletes
Lara Fischbach (SC Hamm) was the best female athlete of the tournament with 75,27 points – the intensive work on her technique over the past few weeks is paying off. Diana Macedo (Valhalla) took second place with 73,02 points. In the Silverbacks camp, Fiona Muller took third place with 68,45 – just ahead of her club mate Nathalie Hierzig. The fact that an athlete from every club was on the podium was noted as a positive by many of those present.
Overall best male athletes
Silverbacks but make it triple: the Koerich club also set the standard in the individual rankings. There was no getting past Mirco Macchi – the athlete, who had already secured top-five places in Italy as a junior, scored 94,89 points. Florian Stronck and Aaron Ferreira both finished with 86,41 – body weight proved decisive for their placings.
New coaches
In addition, the new coaches who successfully passed their exams in June were honoured. Both national coach Alain Hammang and Gaston Parage, commentator and PWFL general secretary, praised the commitment of the up-and-coming coaches and are looking to the future with confidence. The numerous loaders, referees and technical assistants who were taking care of the livestream also made a positive impression and serve as an example of how young people are not shying away from club engagement.
