Tia Braithwaite of Williams Lake broke six world records at the powerlifting world cup in Idaho this weekend organized by the World Powerlifting Congress.
“It's a nice surprise,” Braithwaite said Tuesday morning, “You never know if you’re gonna have a bad day.” It's been less than two years since she has been competing in powerlifting, but she has been weight lifting for about 12 years now and qualified for the world cup after beating national records in May. Braithwaite said she was nervous going into the competition, especially knowing her family travelled for 17 hours to see her compete. "I didn't know how I would stack up against competition or what to expect," she said.
In the end, Braithwaite came home with nine medals as well as a trophy for being the best female lifter at the event. “She kicked butt,” said Cody Braithwaite, Tia’s husband who was at the event. He’s been by her side and supporting Tia with her sudden rise to the top, the world cup being her fourth powerlifting competition ever. “He’s more proud than I am,” Tia said about her husband who is very much invested in her competitions. “He took the nine medals to the neighbours last night to show them...and I think he took them to work today,” she said laughing.
Braithwaite competed in five divisions at the event in her weight category of 67.5 kilograms. She broke three records in bench press, lifting 237 pounds which is more than five pounds over the previous world record set by an Australian powerlifter in 2019. This lift won her a medal in the women’s division as well as in the Police, Fire, Military and First Responder division.
With six records broken, Braithwaite said "the pressure is off a little bit,” in anticipation of her next competition in November. She’ll have to face her own records if she wants to grab more titles at the WPC World Championships in Chicago, but she said it’s less daunting because she knows she can do it.
Braithwaite will be focusing on her own training for the next few months as she prepares for the upcoming competition but plans to take on clients in January as she sets up a career as a personal trainer.
