Guyana medal tally climbs to 14 at FESUPO Championships

Guyana’s medal tally at the 2026 South American Powerlifting Championships in Santiago, Chile, climbed to 14 on Friday following strong performances from Duarte Hetsberger, Matthew Maycock, Demetri Chan, and Olsen Batson.
The quartet competed across the Masters One, Open and Junior divisions as Guyana moved from six medals to 14 at the championships, which are being hosted by the Chilean Federation under the South American Powerlifting Federation (FESUPO).
Hetsberger led the way in the 83kg Masters One division, securing overall silver along with silver in the bench press and bronze medals in the squat and deadlift.
He finished with a 575kg total after recording a 195kg squat, 140kg bench press and 240kg deadlift. Hetsberger entered the deadlift segment in third place overall but improved his standing to finish second. Uruguay’s Richard Marquez won the overall gold after a 250kg deadlift pushed his total to 582.5kg, while Peru’s Dennis Chafloque finished with 565kg.

Maycock, also competing in the 83kg Masters One class, finished with a 555kg total from a 205kg squat, 105kg bench press and 245kg deadlift. In his first international competition, he successfully completed eight of his nine attempts, missing only his final 110kg bench press.
In the 83kg Open division, Chan secured silver in the bench press with a 150kg effort. He placed fifth overall with a 620kg total after squatting 215kg and deadlifting 255kg.
Batson added another medal in the Junior 93kg division with bronze in the squat. After the bar slipped from his back on his opening attempt before he received the rack command, Batson recovered to lift 275kg on his second attempt.
Uruguay’s Alejo Ramiro Brunz won squat gold with a record 290.5kg, while Brazil’s Davi Valdez took silver with 285kg. Batson later recorded a 142.5kg bench press and 240kg deadlift to finish sixth overall with a total of 657.5kg.
Guyana’s medal count at the championships now stands at three gold, seven silver and four bronze for a total of 14 medals.