1ST PLACE WOMEN'S TEAM

MEET DESCRIPTION:

The IPF Bench Worlds was back in the United States for the first time in almost 20 years. It would be held in Cleveland, OH, which would give friends and family the opportunity to see a World Championships for the first time. All of Jen’s family came to watch as well as many friends. With the competition being so close to home it also allowed Jen to bring Tucker, who had just turned 1. Having the Worlds in your own country is a huge advantage. No time change or jet lag, no interruption of your training, and food that you are used to. As soon as Jen got to the hotel, the questions began. She had a new one-year-old son, but was also the defending World Champion. Many, from the other countries, were stumped on how she could have gotten back into such great shape. Some even did the math and couldn’t figure out how she could have won the Worlds the year before. Adoption is not common around the World, and Tucker looks just like Jen, adding to the confusion. None the less, because of Jen’s popularity with the other World teams, Tucker was a hit. Many of the European and Asian team members couldn’t stop playing with him. Most of the first day in the hotel was spent in the lobby watching Tucker play with the other countries team members. Luckily the Grandparents had come, giving Jen the ability to concentrate on the task at hand. 

After the Bench War, Jen took a little time off feeling that she was over trained. With her knee completely healed she started back with full powerlifting training, wanting to take another shot at Women’s Powerlifting Nationals. Still even with the time off, something still just wasn’t right. Her lifts looked loose and her left arm kept lagging. Finally, she actually started to lose some left shoulder strength. The feeling was that it might have been caused from always carrying the new baby in the left arm, leading to the strength issues and what appeared to be shoulder over training. For this reason, shoulder training was eliminated all together for the last 2 months before these Worlds. Do to the ability to now train for full meets again Jen’s weight came back and she would again have to do some cutting to make her 132lb class. Over the years she has become very adept at weight lose, and made her class without difficulty. She felt good, and with all the friends and family around to cheer her on she was ready to defend her title. 

After weigh-ins it was apparent that the competition was going to be a two-person race. It was going to be between the two Jen’s from the USA, a repeat battle of the Bench Nationals between Jen and Jennifer Robertson, with Jen having the heaviest bodyweight. Jen went first with an opener of 292lbs.; she locked it out but was called for uneven extension with her left arm. Her shoulder strength had continued to be a problem even with the rest. Robertson went next with 297lbs. but missed as well. This left it up to the second attempts and strategy. Both athletes decided to repeat their openers. They both went up, but neither was easy. Robertson was now in the lead 297lbs. to 292lbs. The rest of the field was now definitely in it for third with no one else lifting more than 265lbs. Now for the thirds and strategy. Jen put in 303lbs for her third. Robertson followed suit with 303, knowing that she was lighter bodyweight and would win the tie. Jen had a tough decision now. Stick with the 303 and risk losing on a bodyweight tie or go up and try to win outright. Jen is a competitor, even with the shoulder trouble she decided to go up to 308lbs. and the outright win. She said, “I am not going to lose on a bodyweight tie, I have to go for the win, I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t go for it.” Robertson went first and got buried by the 303, didn’t even get it to the lock out phase. Now it was Jen for the win. 308lbs. was on the bar, friends and family were in the crowd going crazy and it was one lift to defend her title. She was ready for this, it what she trains for. The bar flew off her chest, and it looked as if she would easily lock it out. Then towards the top her left arm started to lag and she couldn’t finish the lift once again.  

She had lost her title. She was probably the strongest, but got beat on a strategic decision to go for the outright win and not the tie. She was disappointed with the loss, but was happy for her teammate Jennifer Robertson who had won her first World title. When asked about her decision to go for the 308 instead of staying with 303, she said she would do it every time. You have to go for the win when you are the defending champ. It was not all bad after her loss; the US team went on to win the team title for the first time in history. Jen was excited to be part of this historic title and have her friends and family on hand to witness it. It wasn’t all good news however. Soon after returning home, Jen had an MRI of her neck because of her continued shoulder strength issues. It was found that she had a ruptured disc in her neck and that she had lost nerve function to her left shoulder and part of her triceps. It explained why she had been struggling so much over the last 6 months or so, and was going to require surgery to correct.

Special Thanks to Richard Weed and Carol Latta Chromosome Donors

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