Powerlifting duo Scott Campbell and his son Jeffery walked away from the Amateur World Powerlifting Congress world championships with six world records under their belt.
The championships, held in Chicago in September, fielded competitors from Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom and Russia.
Jeffery, who is only 16, broke four Canadian records in his class for the 210kg squat, the 110kg benchpress, the 217.5kg deadlift and for a total weight lifted of 537.5kg.
His dad broke two Canadian records for the 142kg benchpress and the 255kg squat. The champs was only Jeffery’s third competition, which astounded fellow athletes and the judges.
Scott admits there is a bit of friendly rivalry between him and Jeffery, but that it drives both of them to perform even better.
This is both father and son’s first competition outside of Canada, which they qualified for by competing in Prince George at the CPF Western Champs in May.
Athletes need to win a first, second and third place in order to qualify for the world champs.
What makes Jeffery’s accomplishment remarkable is that he has only been powerlifting for two and a half years.
“At first I was just goofing around in the gym, but when I started doing it properly I realized I’m pretty good at powerlifting,” said Jeffery. “What I really wanted was to follow in my dad’s footsteps.”
Scott started powerlifting ten years ago when he decided to do something about his weight, which then measured 250 pounds.
“After I lost the weight I just carried on lifting. I’ve never stopped, even training through my injuries,” said Scott.
He said he was glad when Jeffery decided to start powerlifting as well, although at first he didn’t think his son was taking it very seriously.
“He has a big frame, has good genes and eats a lot,” said Scott, explaining Jeffery’s rapid rise to success. “It means a lot to me that he has accomplished this drug-free as well.”
Scott and Jeffery train at Kitimat Fitness Gym, and so impressed gym owner Jason Parrill with their performance that he decided to sponsor their plane tickets to Chicago.
Following their win, Scott said he is going to focus on competing in the Canadian nationals, while Jeffery said he will most likely move over to the International Powerlifting Federation.