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Grzybowski Brings Home Gold in International Competition

by Shanine Sealey
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Rashenna Grzybowski travelled to Costa Rica to compete in her first international powerlifting competition in early August and the confidence that she had going into the competition paid off as she came home with a gold medal.

Representing Canada in the North American Powerlifting Championships, Grzybowski completed three out of three lifts and had a total of 375lbs in squat, benched 199lbs and accomplished 407lbs in deadlift. Up against six other women, in the end Grzybowski had a gap of 25.5kg between her and the next closest competitor, which earned her the gold medal win. “I have another competition coming up in three weeks, so I only did as much as I needed to win in Costa Rica so I can save it for my next competition,” Grzybowski explained.

“Being my first international competition, the win is pretty amazing and I feel quite proud, but there is always room to do better, so I will keep pushing myself so I am ready for the higher levels of competition.”

The next competition Grzybowski will be competing in is the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in St. John’s, NL which will take place September 15-21. After competing in the Canadian National Powerlifting Competition, Grzybowski applied to compete in both Costa Rica and St. John’s; however, Grzybowski noted that the Commonwealth Championships is more of a prestigious event. “The people competing in St. John’s are the same ones that will be going to the World Championships, which is what I want to hopefully get into next year.” The only competition bigger than the Commonwealth one is World’s, so Grzybowski says she will be working hard to accomplish that goal in the future.
Heading into the Commonwealth Championships, Grzybowski has a goal in mind of achieving 402lbs in squat, 215lbs in bench and 460lbs in deadlift. “I feel confident that I can do those numbers. I will never know until the day of, but I feel like I am more than capable of accomplishing my goal.”

On Saturday, August 24th, Forged Fitness hosted a BBQ Fundraiser in their parking lot to help raise funds to send Grzybowski to St. John’s. All of the competitions for powerlifting are completely self-funded, so Grzybowski explained that any financial aid makes a huge difference. Those attending the fundraiser had a chance to take part in a raffle, 50/50 draw, dunk tank, bouncy houses, food and drink options and more. In the end, a total of approximately $800 was raised.

“I appreciate the support from everyone that came out and just want to say thank you to Russ, Lorraine and Christopher from Forged Fitness because I would not have gotten where I am without them.”

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