Winnipeg senior sets provincial weight lifting record
81-year-old Ron Brunner may not look like a typical weight lifter, but the Winnipeg senior is one of the most powerful in Manitoba.
On Saturday, Brunner set a new provincial bench press record in his age and weight category as part of "The One Powerlifting Classic" event held at Glenlawn Collegiate.
He was competing against people 70 years and older and managed to lift 71.5 lb, or 32.4 kg.
Brunner said he only started lifting weights seriously around a year ago.
"I started with small weights, working all the way up," he said. "Deadlift I started with 40 lb (18 kg). And I'm up to 120 lb (54 kg) now!"
Brunner lives in a retirement home and works out about four days a week. He said when he began his weight lifting journey, residents laughed at him and told him not to pursue his dreams.
Supporters cheer on Ron Brunner during "The One Powerlifting Classic" event held at Glenlawn Collegiate on March 16, 2024
"You're going to kill yourself, you're going to injure yourself," Brunner recalled, but he said he didn't listen to the naysayers.
"I said,' No. Why don't you come and join me?'"
Brunner added that he never felt as if his age would stand in the way of his training. His coach Kyla Camire agreed.
Camire said while Brunner is her oldest client, he isn't the only senior she has guided.
"People think as they get older they need to stop moving, which is the complete opposite of what they need to do," she said. "To maintain their bone density, you want to stay as mobile as possible."
Other competitors said they were motivated when they saw Brunner competing.
"I'm an older lifter, but I'm not that old," said Ryan Menard. "It's so inspiring seeing people who are a generation older than me that are still at it!"
Brunner said he plans to keep at it for the foreseeable future.
"My goal is to be in good shape," he said. And if he continues to lift weights, Brunner joked, "Maybe I'll live another hundred years!"
Ron Brunner , 81, competes at "The One Powerlifting Classic" event held at Glenlawn Collegiate on March 16, 2024. (Jon Hendricks/CTV News Winnipeg)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Appeal denied for Edmonton soldier accused of trying to kill her 3 children
An Edmonton woman found guilty of trying to kill her three children has been denied an appeal.