Mitchell powers his way to second place at nationals

Dave Mitchell powered his way to a first-place finish in his division–and second overall–at the Canadian Powerlifting Championships in Okotoks, Alta. (near Calgary) last weekend.
The Fort Frances resident recorded a high lift of 584 pounds in the squat, 292 in bench press, and 562 in the deadlift en route to the second-best placing at the competition, which attracted close to 40 competitors from across the country.
Despite the solid performance, though, Mitchell said he was disappointed in the fact he didn’t reach his personal bests in any of the three categories, especially the squat where he has excelled in past competitions.
In fact, Mitchell has routinely attained a 600-pound squat in the past and has set his goal at lifting 630 pounds by the time the nationals roll around next fall. But he said some poor advice from his spotter hampered Mitchell during one of his lifts.
“I’m happy [to finish second overall] but I’m disappointed because I didn’t lift my best,” said Mitchell, who retired from the sport nine years ago before returning competitively last year.
Mitchell, who competed in the 181-pound class, trained three times a week for the past three months in preparation for the national competition, which he called the “big one” in terms of this year’s schedule (he placed first overall at an event in Minnesota about two months ago).
But he stressed he will now takes things “easy” in terms of training for the next while, deciding to enjoy the summer before getting back into a more rigorous routine.
“I’ll train lighter, have more reps [in my routine], and do different exercises,” said Mitchell, noting many of the competitors have changed since he dominated the sport back in the ‘80s.
“I recognized some of the guys, but there were a lot of new faces that I’ve never competed with before,” he said.
The lifts qualified Mitchell, who works out regularly at the Sportsplex, to compete at this year’s world championships, but he has decided to pass this year.
Citing financial restraints and a lack of sponsors, Mitchell chose to forego the opportunity to compete at this year’s worlds
Instead, the 36-year-old, former two-time Canadian champ (he won the title back in 1988 and ‘89) will set his sights on next year when Calgary will play host to the Western Canadian Championships, the nationals, and the World Championships.
Mitchell placed fifth at the world championships in Stone, England back in 1989.