Local weightlifting guru Ed Fergusson is back home from the masters championships where he set a new provincial record in the clean and jerk in his age group, and missed a second record in the snatch by a whisker.
In action at the 2012 BC Masters Weightlifting Championships held at Crossfit BC in West Vancouver on May 5, the easy going senior was part of a field of 14 lifters.
The youngest age group in masters competition is the 35-39, and Fergusson, who turns 77 in June, was the oldest competitor.
Fergusson set a new BC Masters record in the clean and jerk for his age group (75-79) at 66kilos and just as impressive as the record was the fact he finished third overall.
The old record in the snatch was 51 kilos he said, “and I tried 52 (kilos) twice and due to poor technique missed it,” he surmised easily.
A former high school teacher/weightlifting coach from Edmonton, this was Fergusson’s third time competing at the BC Masters — he finished second overall last year.
A decorated veteran of the sport, Fergusson won bronze at the World Masters in Edmonton one year and even made the trip to Greece another year to compete in a World Masters compettion there.
For most of the lifters, many of whom, like Fergusson, are the only ones in their divisions, the competitions are all about raising the bar, so to speak.
“What happens is you get in there and you try and beat the record, that’s what keeps you going,” he explained.
Fifty-something Mike Cartwright who runs the Capilano Weightlifting Club “was phenomenal,” and finished first overall, and Chris Dariotis from Washington State took second.
A master carpenter on his off days, Fergusson spends a lot of time at the gym not only training, but coaching the nuances of the sport to others.
A few months ago Doug Wilson, an old friend of his and former weightlifter from Edmonton now living in Victoria, called him up said he wanted to take up the sport again.
“The last time he competed was in 1975 at the Canada Winter Games in Lethbride, Alberta,” chuckled Fergusson.
That was about three months ago, and fast forward to the BC Masters and Wilson, 55, set three new provincial records in the Mens 55-59 division.
Wilson snatched 60kg and Clean and Jerked 80 for a 140kg total, an increase of 10kg over the old BC Masters record.
“He did a really good job ... he was a very happy boy,” Fergusson said.
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Fergusson can’t make it, but his team of three women and five men, will be competing at the SeaFest open weightlifting competition’s 40th anniversary in White Rock the last weekend of June.
Anyone interested in trying their hand at the sport can ask for Ed Fergusson at Jim’s Gym.