Limerick Powerlifting Club members excel at World Championships

A LIMERICK sporting club has been put on the world map again excelling in the World Powerlifting Championships.

The Limerick Powerlifting Club, based in the old factories on the city's southside, supplied six members to the Irish team at the tournament in Portugal.

Between them, they won eight gold medals, plus the title of best master lifter, the absolute overall winner title, while they also smashed four world records to boot.

Two of these records were broken by Darragh O'Keeffe who is just 18 years old, and he scored a gold medal into the process. Amazingly, he was not even the youngest medalist at the competition, with Oisin Smith, 16, winning the top prize in his category.

Ireland's most decorated powerlifter, Shane Brodie was celebrating on the double, as he took gold in both the open category and the masters category.

Martin O'Mahony lifted in the master category, making his international debut - and he managed to score gold also! Another debutant, Mark Cosgrove was another gold winner in the team, with Ray Foley getting over a slow start to put himself on the top step of the podium too.

He later followed it up with a second gold medal. Team Ireland was given great encouragement and help in the warm up by one of the Limerick Powerlifting Club's coaches Jamie Hogan who travelled across to Portugal. He was joined by family and friends of the participants, who Shane said offered 'unbelievable support.'