Last weekend, members of Team USA Para Powerlifting headed halfway around the world to the 2019 Tokyo Test Event. The event is a trial run for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, and counts towards the athletes overall international ranking.
On Friday, Team USA was off to a great start with Christian Largo competing in the Men’s Up to 64kg weight category. Going 3 for 3, Largo finished first in this weight class and hit a personal record of 140kg, which earned him a gold medal.
On Saturday, it was another gold medal for Team USA as Jake Schrom competed in the Men’s Up to 107kg weight class and achieved an international personal record of 202kg. This increased his international ranking by three spots with his finish.
Also bringing a solid effort to the test event were Ashley Dyce, who competed in the Women’s Over 86kg weight class, and Antonio Martin, who competed in the Men’s Over 107kg weight class. While the two did not earn spots on the board, they will have another chance to increase their world rankings before the 2020 Paralympic Games.
“I am extremely proud of our athletes and coaches,” said Kelley Humphries, DC, MS, EMT-P, CSCS, ICCSP, CCSP, executive director of Paralympic operations at Logan University. “It has been a busy international year on the competition side and our team has responded to every challenge it has faced. We walked away from this tournament with two golds, two personal records and many valuable lessons learned.”
Dr. Humphries said coming off a roller coaster of a tournament, she looks forward to the team’s continued hard work and seeing how the athletes perform in 2020.