THE YOUNGEST competitor was just 10 and the oldest was a veteran of 81, but both covered themselves in glory, lifting almost their own body weights at the World Power Lifting Championships in Limerick.
Tommy Dillon (81) and Alex Bedford-Brody (10) both took gold medals home to their club, the Southside Bar Bell club, while Tommy broke the world record in his age group.
Tommy say he was “delighted and honoured” to still be lifting after decades of winning titles and training.
The O’Malley Park man has broken 50 world powerlifting records, won gold medals in four international events, and was last year inducted into the Powerlifting Hall of Fame.
At the Championships, which were attended by more than 450 competitors from 26 different countries, Tommy broke the record by lifting 75kg – his own body weight being 77kg.
10-year-old Alex, who took gold for lifting 42.5kg (with a bodyweight of 43kg) at his first International event.
It doesn’t surprise his parents, Shane and Amanda, who know that Alex has had a strong pair of shoulders since he had to have two major heart surgeries before he was three weeks old, having been born with life-threatening cardiac problems.
“He’s doing great now,” Shane told the Limerick Post.
“Myself and his mother Amanda don’t hold him back. We let him off to have his childhood. He plays rugby with Young Munster and now he’s fallen in love with powerlifting. Not a surprise really because I’ve been involved and training youngsters for 10 years now. He’s been training for about six months, coming to the gym with me.”
And congratulations are due to all 15 club members who brought home medals in every category, male and female.
Alex’s battle has become the stuff of legend in the club and now, every year in the first week in December, they host a charity power lifting event to raise money for Crumlin Hospital, whose dedicated staff saved the young lad’s life and look after him still.
The club have regular training sessions at their gym on the Old Cork Road in the Kilmallock Enterprise Centre.
