THE maiden Devon and Cornwall Open Powerlifting Championships were held at Sunningmead Community Centre in Tiverton and proved to be a major success.

The event attracted a high calibre field from across the South-West region who treated an enthusiastic audience to an entertaining event in which a host of regional records were set or broken.

Seven people represented Devon with three coming from Tiverton Weightlifting Club who all gained their respective British qualifying standard.

Mark Rattenberry, M2 (50+), lifting in the 66kg bodyweight category, recorded a comfortable 135.0kg back squat. He followed this with a 77.5kg bench press and finished with a solid 165kg deadlift for a 377.5kg total, to set four new South-West records and finish first.

Jevan Cockbain, a 15-year-old junior at 74kg, registered a 137.5kg squat and a 77.5kg bench press, before hoisting a superb 180.0kg deadlift. This gave him a finishing total of 395kgs to win his section by 2.5kgs and set South-West records for the deadlift and total.

Peter Hoar, a 23-year-old junior at 105kg, smashed the existing South-West best by 10kgs with a gutsy squat of 200kgs. He nailed a bench press of 120kgs before pulling a mighty 252.5kg deadlift to claim the regional record by 2.5kgs. A total of 572.5kgs was achieved and enough to claim his class and category title.

Rattenbury, the organiser and Tiverton’s head coach, said: “I was very pleased with the turnout and the quality of lifting, which helped make it a memorable event enjoyed by everyone.”