World Classic & Equipped Masters Powerlifting Championships 2023: Taharally, Rogers to represent Guyana

The Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) is set to continue its hectic year of competition, and its presence at the third World Championships for this year is being considered an unprecedented feat.
Carlos “the Showstopper” Petterson-Griffith represented the Golden Arrowhead at the World Classic Open Powerlifting Championships in Malta in June, while Romeo Hunter and Dominic Tyrell represented the Golden Arrowhead at the World Classic & Equipped Sub-Junior & Junior Powerlifting Championships in Romania in August-September. These athletes are now passing the baton to Nadina Taharally and Roger Rogers, who, on debut, would be aiming to augment the successful medal hauls of their colleagues in both Malta and Romania.
Taharally would be contesting the Masters 176kg Class of the World Masters Women’s Classic Championships, while Rogers would be aiming for glory in the Master 11 120kg category of the World Masters Men’s Classic Championships. The action would be taking place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from October 8-15.
Both athletes have been training assiduously over the past year, and they have each expressed resolve to perform at their utmost in order to maintain the rich tradition of powerlifting for Guyana.

Taharally’s career in powerlifting commenced in 2015, and she has since been a force to reckon with locally and regionally. Two years into her career, she made the cut to represent Guyana at the regional level, and did so on two occasions at the North American Powerlifting Championships in Orlando, Florida, once in Uruguay, and once in Mexico.
Having missed out on competing at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand last year due to visa issues, Taharally says this year will be a defining year in her short but very successful career. She is a former bodybuilding and Miss Best Legs winner, as well as the third-placed athlete in the inaugural CrossFit competition event held in Guyana in 2015.
Roger Rogers, like Nadina Taharally, has to date enjoyed a short but successful career in the sport. His first competitive lift on the platform was in 2019, and his performance was so outstanding that he made the national shortlist for 2020.
With sports across the board locally and internationally being curtailed by COVID-19, Rogers became competitive again at the NAPF/Pan American Championships in 2021 in Orlando, Florida, where he made his international debut and chalked up the Pan Am squat and deadlift records in the process.
He missed the Commonwealth Championships last year in New Zealand because he was issued his visa late. That would not be a deterrent this time around, as both athletes have already obtained the necessary visas and are scheduled to wing out of Guyana on Monday night for Mongolia.
On behalf of the Executive body and the powerlifting fraternity in Guyana, GAPLF President Franklin Wilson has extended best wishes to both athletes.
“We have been following your progress on the platform, and we have no doubt that you will continue to do yourselves and Guyana proud on the world stage. Your commitment to putting in the hard work, we are sure, will bring the desired rewards when you hit the platform, and we wish you the best,” he said.
Wilson also noted that the year has been very hectic for the new executive body, as Guyana has already competed at three overseas competitions and has medaled at each.
“We have also been able to run off our statutory competitions locally, the Intermediate and Masters as well as Raw Nationals; and we will pull the curtains down on what will be the most hectic year for the sport to date in a calendar year with Senior Nationals on December 10,” Wilson has disclosed.