10-member powerlifting team for Pan Am Championships

A team comprising 10 of Guyana’s best powerlifters will, on Monday night, jet off for the 18th FESUPO/NAPF Pan-American Regional Powerlifting Championships in Orlando, Florida.
Scheduled for August 17th to 23rd, the trip, inclusive of the total cost of preparation, is valued at $4.2M.
Speaking with media operatives during a briefing on Saturday morning, President of the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF), Gordon Spencer, opined that the GAPLF had made a ‘fair selection’ of the team, and he expects the athletes to have good returns at the event.
“The Team we’ve put together is one that we carefully selected. Coming out of the pandemic in 2020, many of our athletes were not able to train as they would have liked, but those that are selected here are those who were able to find a gym and (do) what was expected of them; and so we were able to make a fair selection,” Spencer noted.

“All in all, we think that this team here – that we’re using to represent Guyana – is going to do us well. We’ve always been able to raise the flag of Guyana, and we’d like to do so again,” he declared.
On a similar note, General Secretary of the GAPLF, Roger Rogers, vocalised his trust in the selection process that the GAPLF abides by.
“It’s a team that was selected based on very clear criteria which (were) developed by the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation over the years, and which we have used diligently; which would have proven the quality of the athletes and the accolades they benefited from on previous outings,” Rogers explained.
Responding to a question about the athletes’ travel arrangements and avoiding any hiccups, Rogers disclosed that the only box left to be ticked is their mandatory COVID-19 testing.
“Our flight arrangements are confirmed. We do not envisage any difficulty. The only procedural requirement that remains outstanding at this juncture is our COVID test, which will be done tomorrow, facilitated by the Ministry of Health, for which we’re grateful.”
He added confidently, “So, barring any adverse outcome of that exercise, all our arrangements are firmly set.”
The lone female on the team, Nadine Taharally, is hoping to make the most of the competition while remaining injury free.
“Some of us who could make the gym and some of us who couldn’t make the gym made much with what we had at home to do the training and, you know, try our best to do our best with what we had. With that said, I’m just hoping to do my best, make Guyana proud, and return injury free,” Taharally stated.
Carlos ‘The Showstopper’ Peterson-Griffith gave more in-depth information about his training routine, and noted that he is grateful for the international competition.
“My preparation? Yeah, it’s been off for 2-3 months. With that being said, I’ve found myself being in and out of Jamie’s (Mc Donald’s) backyard training facility. With that I was able to do tyre flips, sandbags, most likely strongman training; did some car deadlifts which you’re able to not just keep in the powerlifting arena,” he explained.
‘The Showstopper’ added, “With the pandemic hitting us, I was a bit off, nevertheless the difficulties here and there. But with that being said, I’m happy once again, not just to make the team, but to compete abroad.”
The Guyana team consists of Nadine Taharally (78kg M1/Open Classics), Roger Rogers (120kg M2 Classics), Carlos Peterson-Griffith, Wasim Mohamed (93kg Open Classics), Naranjan Singh (83kg M4 Equipped), Martin Webster (93kg M2 Classics), Referees Franklin Brisport-Luke (66kg M2 Classics/ Equipped), Gordon Spencer (93kg M3 Equipped), Andrew Austin and Coach/Manager Kerma Singh.