Over the weekend, Canadian powerlifter Christine Castro put on a very strong showing at the 2018 OPA Provincials meet held in Ontario, Canada. On the day, Castro weighed in at 66kg/146 lbs and put up incredible lifts across the board. We think it’s safe to say Castro’s comeback season is heading in the right direction.
Castro is a regular competitor in the women’s -63kg weight class and currently owns the Canadian Powerlifting Union Deadlift Record with a strong 198kg/436 lb pull that she completed in March 2017.
At this meet, Castro blew past that feat and came scary close to the current -63kg squat and total CPU records held by Maria Htee. Yes, for this meet Castro’s weight was slightly above the -63kg weight class, but her numbers are moving in the right direction and, in our opinion, suggest what her future performances will hold.
For the meet, Castro finished with a 182.5kg/402 lb squat, which is a lift that’s only 2.5kg shy from Maria Htee’s current 185kg/407 lb CPU record set the 2018 Arnold Sports Festival. On the bench press, Castro hit a smooth 98kg/198 lbs, and for the deadlift she pulled a very strong 212.5kg/468 lbs. This deadlift is 14.5kg over Castro’s current -63kg CPU Deadlift Record, and isn’t incredibly far off Samantha Calhoun’s IPF World Record.
To finish the day, Castro hit a 485kg/1,069 lb total, which also ties Htee’s current -63kg CPU Total Record. Her performance ended up winning gold and the best female lifter overall. Check out this videos of her lifts below.
In the first portion of Castro’s Instagram carousel description she writes,
“I just want to take this time to thank my amazing coach @justinreeson. We have been working together since Nationals 2018 and this was also after my surgery. These lifts seemed impossible to reach for me at first but he never stopped believing in me even on days when I don’t believe in myself.”
We’re pumped to see what 2019 has in store for Castro as she continues to improve all of her lifts. Can she tackle some of Htee’s records in the near future?
Related: Romanian Deadlift
Feature image from @snearkersoverstilettos Instagram page.