Guelph powerlifter Kafui Hotsonyame continues to lift himself to the top, winning gold at the Canadian National Powerlifting Championships in Winnipeg last week.
“Basically my main goal of the competition was to get the gold and qualify for a spot on Team Canada and the World Championships again, which takes place in Belarus this year in June,” he said.
When GuelphToday last spoke to Hotsonyame he was celebrating after finishing third in his class and seventh overall at the International Powerlifting Federation’s World Men’s Classic Championships in Helsingborg, Sweden.
“It was right after the World Powerlifting Championship in June of last year,” said Hotsonyame. “After that my next competition was provincials in November, which I also won. At provincials I hit an unofficial world record so that was kind of cool as well. Nationals were the next competition after that.”
The Canadian National Powerlifting Championships ran from March 3 to March 7 in Winnipeg and Hotsonyame competed on March 3.
He had already clinched the gold with his second deadlift of 315 kg (694.4 lbs) and attempted to widen his lead by 17 kg during his third and final deadlift.
“It was 733 lbs and I weighed in at just over 181 lbs,” he said. “It was kind of frustrating because it was basically all the way up. I just lost my grip at the top and that is when I started losing it and luckily the spotter caught me before I fell over. If I had finished my third pull it would have been an unofficial world record, as well.”
The gold medal win has secured him a spot on Team Canada but he still needs to raise the money to train and get him to Belarus in June.
“I haven’t started a GoFundMe this year yet but I probably will and I will be looking for a sponsor for this opportunity at the World Championship,” he said. “There are grants you can apply for but there is no guaranteed money for Team Canada. It’s a matter of applying for a grant and hoping you get lucky based on what funding they have available as well.”
He lives and works in Guelph for logistics company Pival International and also provides personal training services.
“I also have my own business which I do on the side,” he said. “On my website I have a ton of training blogs and information and that is where I supply personal training services as well.”
He hopes to win gold in June in Belarus but he has another goal to accomplish, as well.
“At the last World Championship I broke the world record for, honestly, a minute and a half,” said Hotsonyame. “Then someone from Sweden re-broke it right after me. My biggest goal is to take back my world record. I want to bring it back to Canada.
To learn more about Hotsonyame and follow his progress visit: www.kafuifitness.com