NPAJ credits powerlifters’ discipline for their golden debut

Discipline and strength are two key components needed to succeed in any sport and the Jamaican powerlifting team clearly possessed both as all three athletes won gold medals and set records on the team’s recent international debut.

Manager and coach of the Jamaica Spartans, Jeremy Owen, attributed the team’s success at the North American Powerlifting Federation (NAPF) Regional Championships, to their discipline in and out of training.

“Many people don’t understand what it takes to move a certain amount of weight and what you have to put your body through - the dieting and studying the videos on your list. Everything came together well and we all benefited from their discipline in terms of their training blocks going into the meet,” Owen said. “All three athletes have a very rigid and strict training regime and it takes a lot of hours in the gym. None of them missed training sessions with the exception of Sami Depass who had COVID-19 about six weeks ago, but once she recovered she was right back in there.”

Their discipline paid off as all athletes: Scott Jenning, Jevon DaCosta and Sami Depass were at their best during the championships.

“To break five individual records and break one team record and get three gold medals, it’s truly a huge accomplishment for the Jamaica Spartans on their international debut. Words cannot properly describe what this means to us and what it will mean for the sport of powerlifting in Jamaica and the Caribbean in general,” Owen said.

Team captain Javon DaCosta said this disciplined approach will continue as the team strives to achieve more.

“Moving forward you will be seeing greater numbers from myself and the entire team because we will be training and we will be number one,” DaCosta said.

Local events such as the Deadlift Championships on September 24 and National Championships at the end of November will also keep the team active as Owen said they are hoping to compete in at least two international meets next year.

“We will be going to this same NAPF Regional Championships next year that will be in the Cayman Islands. We are still working on the arrangements for the other meet which is set for February 1,” he said.

The National Powerlifting Association Jamaica (NPAJ) said they are hoping to expand the team but they will need more assistance.

“The success that the team has just had in Panama City will only motivate them to do better,” Owen said.

“The challenge for us has been the lack of sponsorship (and) attention (but) what these three gold medals have now done is shine some light on the programme,” he added.