In the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) competition held May 30 in Austin Texas, Amy Suzan of Hayward set a personal record in the equipped bench press competition for her age and weight group lifting 242.5 lbs.
Suzan bested her personal record for competition by 16 pounds even though she has lifted more at home, 245 lbs.
Suzan lifted the same weight as Katherine Bak of Denmark who came in first in the 69kg weight category, but in IPF rules when athletes lift the same weight the one with the lower body weight gets the nod, so Suzan came in second, winning the silver .
The IPF Austin competition featured both the conventional raw or traditional bench press and the equipped bench press, a bench press with the athletes wearing a special shirt that allows for higher lifts.
Typically Suzan competes internationally in both the raw and equipped categories, but because the bench competition was held on May 25 and her schedule wouldn’t allow her to be gone for more than a few days, she had to settle on just competing in the equipped competition on May 30.
In Austin, there were 818 athletes from 41 country competing, Suzan had three successful lifts.
Her first was at 97.5kg or 214 lbs., but Bak’s first lift was 107.5kgs and then Bak lifted higher on her second lift at 110kgs (242.5 lbs.).
Suzan knew she had to lift more to compete and she chose 105kgs or 231 pounds and was successful.
On Bak’s third lift attempt at 117.5kg she missed by a judges’ ruling, and then Suzan had to make the decision to either tie Bak at 110kg, resulting in a silver medal for Suzan, or try to lift closer to 245lbs for the gold.
“I think that it (110kg) was the right choice because it was a pretty hard lift and I think that was all I could have lifted that day,” she said, “so I wanted my goal to keep first place and get the gold, but if not at least the silver.”
With her coach, Joe Jordan, a resident of Texas, Suzan made the decision to go for 110kg.
Like any sport, powerlifting has strategies and choosing the right weight to lift is the most important decision one can make.
“You have to trust your teammates (Suzan competes with the US Virgin Island team) and your coaches and handlers, and there is constant communication how your lifts went and how you are doing,” she said.
After the competition, she said, it’s very common for lifters to second-guess themselves on whether they tried to lift too much or too little.
“Sometimes you say to yourself that ‘I should have lifted more or maybe I should have lifted more,’ but I think that was pretty tough lift (242.4 lbs./110kg) to get my elbows to lock out on that last one,” she said.
Next
Suzan has literally competed around the world, including Mongolia, South Africa, Canada and the US Virgin Island.
Next on her schedule is a return to South Africa for the IPF South African Powerlifting Federation competition from October 5-13, and then back to the US Virgin Island for the national completion in March 2025 to qualify for the World Classic and Equipped Bench Press Championships in Drammen, Norway held from May 17-25, 2025.
“Getting out to travel across the world is a fun experience just as much as the competition,” she said.
In Austin, Suzan took a Segway (two-wheeled motorized device) tour of the city with one of the Canadian team members she has befriended.
With more international competition experience behind her, Suzan feels like she is better able to compete because she knows what to expect with traveling and preparing for events.
“I think one of the reasons I did so well in Austin is that is was rather short distance (to travel) compared to the competition held in Mongolia last year,” she said.
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