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Sport

8 March, 2020

Wyatt to lift with the best in the world

Mareeba’s Jack Wyatt will be in the spotlight after qualifying for the Arnold (Schwarzenegger) Strength Summit Pro Raw Powerlifting competition.

By Rhys Thomas

Wyatt to lift with the best in the world - feature photo

Mareeba’s Jack Wyatt will be in the spotlight after qualifying for the Arnold (Schwarzenegger) Strength Summit Pro Raw Powerlifting competition.

The Arnold Strength Summit is the peak for strongest men in the world to strive for; it is an internationally recognised event and has legendary feats of strength performed every year.

Jack will be going up against the best of the best next Saturday in Melbourne, for the squat, bench and deadlift event; the Pro Raw Powerlifting Competition Saturday March 21.

Being one of the youngest competitors for his 110kg weight division, Jack knows that he has a long way to go before he’s at his strongest.

“I’m going down there knowing I’m not going to win, but for me it’s all about the experience,” he said.

“You get your strongest between 35 and 40 so I’ve got some time.

“After this event I’m going to take a step back and focus on my studies.”

The aspiring teacher currently lives in Cairns where he is studying a Master’s degree, and aims to become a HPE and Biology teacher.

Jacks love for fitness is what drives him to become a HPE teacher; he aims to educate kids on the value of exercise and the positive health benefits that can follow.

He has always had a great support circle including his parents which once banned him from going to the gym.

He then took it upon himself and welded together equipment with rods, tyres and anything else he could find to make some makeshift gym equipment.

Jack lifted a total of 820kg to qualify for Pro Raw at a lifting competition on the Sunshine Coast that he entered on a whim, an impressive feat as Jack only started training specifically for powerlifting in June of 2019.

He will be competing against the best power lifter in the world; Kirill Igorevich Sarychev, a Russian powerlifter who can raw bench press 335kg.

Going up against such a renowned and skilled opponent certainly has its effects; however Jack is viewing this as an experience and is hoping to learn all he can from the best in the world.

Jack started his journey at Essential Fitness in Mareeba when he was still in school, an overweight 16yr old kid who had decided to start looking after himself and working out.

“I really suffered with body image problems, I was an overweight kid,” he said.

“People have a lot of self-confidence issues when coming to gym with people looking at them.

“But at the end of the day if someone is judging you at the gym for trying to improve yourself, they aren’t worth your energy.

“Just because your stronger, doesn’t make you a better person.”

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