ALBERTON, P.E.I. — A former Alberton town councillor is a world silver-medallist in powerlifting.
Natasha Dunn Kvedaras, who now lives in Ontario, earned silver medals in bench and deadlift, bronze in squat and silver overall at the International Powerlifting Federation’s world championships last week in Helsingborg, Sweden.
Dunn Kvedaras, who competed in the women’s 63-kilogram Masters 1 Division, went into the competition ranked third, but ended up flipping rankings with a lifter from Norway.
“We knew it was going to be a fight for second,” she said, noting her weight advantage, about six-tenths of a kilogram lighter than the Norwegian lifter, was the deciding factor after the two lifters put up the same total lifts, 380 kilograms.
That weight difference, though, only became a factor because of a disciplined approach to training, which featured her boosting her deadlift by almost 30 kilograms over the past year. Her 160-kilogram lift at the worlds beat her personal best in deadlift by five kilograms. She also had a personal best in squat, but fell just short in bench.
The trip to the worlds took Dunn Kvedaras about a year to navigate and included the Ontario and national championships.
“Probably for the last year, I’ve missed one workout in the last year,” she described her preparation.
So, was it worth it? “Oh, my goodness, yes,” she said.
She’s currently on vacation in Copenhagen with her husband and training partner, Aras Kvedaras. She said she will likely get back to training next week. She is coached by Mark Giffin.
“There’s always room to work on things, that’s for sure,” said Dunn Kvedaras. “My next goal is to – now that my deadlift is on the up – keep moving that up. That’s where you’ve going to gain kilograms is on your deadlift.”
Two other Islanders also competed in Sweden – Heather Ayles in the 57-kilogram Masters 1 Division and Arlene van Diepen in the 84-kilogram Masters 3 class. Van Diepen set a world record in deadlift winning gold in that discipline.
There are 67 countries represented in Sweden in a world championship which runs until June 15. Of the more than 950 lifters, 58 per cent of them are female.
