Local lads power to European glory

Both men finished in the top three of their respective bodyweight divisions during the week-long contest in Eger, Hungary.

David grabbed third place in the Men’s Open 100kg class after two personal best lifts.

“I’m delighted to have secured third place in the European, particularly as I’ve only been competing in the sport since March last year,” David told Times Sport.

“I had a personal best squat of 310kg, a bench press of 210kg and another personal best of 260kg in the deadlift which gave me a combined total of 780kg, 45kgs up on my previous best.

“As I said I’m thrilled to have done so well.

“I’m going to take a bit of time off now to prepare for the GPC World Championships which are being held in Limerick in November.

“I would like to thank all my friends and family for all there support and all the people that gave me sponsorship.

“I would also like to thank my training partners Kyle Vauls, Brendan Graham, Alan Tosh, Brian McMullan, Andy Cussick, Simon Campbell and Ben Loughery.

“And finally a special thank-you to my fiancee Michelle for preparing all my meals and putting up with me and the time I spend in the gym, without you none of this would be possible.”

David’s training partner Kyle added to his already impressive reputation in the power lifting arena with another strong showing in the Men’s Open 110kg class securing second place overall.

Kyle squatted 360kg, bench pressed 300kg and had a deadlift of 300kg to take the silver.

“I had a bit of trouble getting my starting squat of 360kg passed by the judges,” he explained.

“The judges on the sidelines thought they were good, but sometimes you get bad calls.

“I had depended on my squat to put me in the lead, but I ended up sticking at the same weight (360kg) just to be safe and I got it on the third.

“I’m now preparing for the BPC British Championships in Ruislip, England on July 3rd.

“My aim is to try and break the 1000kg barrier there before resting for a few weeks prior to beginning the build up for the Worlds in August.

“I’d like to thank everyone who continues to support me which helps me compete in international competitions.

“And also my training partners David, Brian, Sam, Gerry, Brendan, Andy, Ben and Simon.”