Canadian powerlifting surge
This week’s Canadian Powerlifting Nationals in St. John’s drew a record field — over 800 athletes, the largest championship to date — and spotlighted 68‑year‑old Mava Brydges who came within 5 kg of her division’s national record while squatting a weight described as equivalent to a household refrigerator chroniclejournal.com winnipegsun.com CTV News.
The championships ran March 9–14, 2026 at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland in St. John’s [canplnationals.ca]. Sixty‑eight‑year‑old Mava Brydges posted a 132.5‑kilogram squat in her session on March 12, 2026 [torontotoday.ca]. She is listed in the Masters‑3 (65–69) category and holds national equipped marks including a 137.5‑kg squat set May 14, 2022 and an 84‑kg class total of 371.5 kg set March 10, 2024 [data.powerlifting.ca]. That same day Brydges also hoisted a 140‑kg deadlift at the meet, the championships featured live streams on Canada Powerlifting’s YouTube channels, and roughly half the entries at the event were women [torontotoday.ca].
