Results from March to October 2010

Photo courtesy of Ian Douglas
Photo courtesy of Ian Douglas
Photo courtesy of Ian Douglas
Photo courtesy of Ian Douglas

Here are some results from the past few months:

March 27, 2010, Ontario Senior Championships in Toronto

Snatch: 70kg, 75kg x, 75kg x

Clean and Jerk: 87kg, 92kg x, 92kg (Personal best)

Total : 162kg, 1st in 58kg and best lifter.

Full results can be found at http://www.ontarioweightlifting.ca/

May 22-23, 2010, National Senior Championships, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec

Snatch: 70kg, 75kg, 80kg x

Clean and Jerk: 87kg, 93kg, 95kg x (Personal best)

Total: 168kg (Personal best total) 3rd in the 58kg and 7th overall

Full results can be found at http://www.halterophilecanada.ca/

August 21, 2010, Blue Mountain Open, Collingwood, Ontario

Snatch: 72kg, 77kg, 80kg x

Clean and Jerk: 92kg, 97kg, 99kg x (Personal best)

Total: 174kg (Personal best) 1st in the 58kg, 1st overall

Results at http://www.ontarioweightlifting.ca/

October 9, 2010, Ray Hamilton Classic, North Bay, Ontario

Snatch: 74kg, 79kg x, 79kg x

Clean and Jerk: 94kg, 99kg x, 99kg x

Total: 168kg 1st in the 58kg, 1st overall (Not happy)

Results at http://www.ontarioweightlifting.ca/

Update from March to October 2010

Hello everyone,

It's been a long time since I've updated my blog. Probably for a few reasons: the Winter Olympics were a big downer for me. I was really hoping to see my brother compete and as most of you know, it was not to be for, I say, political reasons. I've been busy with work, which is a good thing. And busy going away to destination weddings, everyone decided to get married this year it seems.

There has been a lot of thinking done in the past year and a lot of stress. Some of the thinking and discusssing with François has been on the meaning of sport. As in: why am I doing this? Do I like doing this to the point at which my time and energy is best spent? Is it realistic to still be dreaming of the Olympics? And after what happened to my brother, do I even want to try? I've also changed jobs which for me has reduced my stress greatly. Therefore I can know put more energy into my training.

There has also been some financial stress. Travelling to all those competitions and getting hotels, gym memberships... And this year, weddings! Reducing my hours at work this past year on top of it all. Plus for a while living and paying rent on my own. Well things are looking up, the weddings are mostly over ;) I've found a roomate. And best of all I just found out that I've been chosen for Quest for Gold. So now I am a fully carded Ontario athlete. Awesome!

Other news, in April 2010 I had the chance to meet Pierre Saint-Jean. I heard he went to the Olympics or something...three times! Aldo tells me he was an amazing lifter. Really good in the snatch. So in April I was a guinea pig at the coaching seminar and Pierre was invited to help out with some of his knowledge. He coached me during the seminar and we hit it off.

So now I have a team of coaches helping me. How lucky am I? All coaches have different roles now, depending on their strengthes, availability and my weaknesses. I can't believe I almost moved away from Ottawa at one point. Pierre has been a great addition, he has spotted some key weaknesses. We've been working on those and results have been improving since.

I guess this summarizes the past year. It's been a big one for me. Big life changing moments. They might not have seemed big to others but for me it has set me on track. I know what I want for myself now. It has a lot to do with surrounding myself with happy, positive, ambitious hardworking people.

Stay tuned for more frequent updates!

Isabelle Després