Powerlifters Qualify For National Competition

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Powerlifters from all over the state were in Macon Saturday at Body Evolution, hoping to qualify for the American Powerlifting Committee’s national competition.

There were a lot of loud screams and funny faces, but what would you do if you were lifting that much weight?

These guys are pros.

“I’ll be 48 in June,” says Andy Williamson.  “So, you know, you don’t get a whole lot of people yelling at you.”

But at competitions like this one, there’s reason to be loud.  If these lifters qualify, they’ll move on to nationals, which takes place right up the road in Athens.

Some of these guys are really big, but what about the kids–that’s right–the kids who want to lift some weights?

11-year-old Chandler Wiggins has been lifting since he was 7, when his brother bet him he couldn’t deadlift 135 pounds.

“He said, ‘I bet you can’t do it,'” says Wiggins.  “I went over there, I grabbed it and snatched it up, and daddy heard a big ‘ole thump and said, ‘Hey! Put that down!'”

“He only powerlifts two months out of the year,” says Chandler’s dad, David Wiggins.  “The rest of the time he’s in baseball or football, but when he was eight years old, he did his first meet.  He actually set the world records in powerlifting at eight and at nine years old.

And he set another one this weekend.

“Well I just did 308,” says Chandler.  “I’ve about squatted 315.”

It’s good ‘ole, wholesome family fun, and if any of these guys make it past the national qualifier in Athens, they’ll represent the USA overseas.

“This year it’s going to be in Finland,” says Williamson.  “Next year, it’s going to be in Sydney, Australia.”

The national competition takes place June 21-23 in Athens.