Frey joins Team Canada
Posted on August 31, 2017 by Maple CreekDominique Liboiron
Twitter: @DomMCNews
Email: dliboiron4@hotmail.com
Shane Frey has earned a spot on Team Canada. Originally from Maple Creek, Frey is a weightlifter who holds multiple national records, and he will travel to Erie, Penn. for an international competition Oct. 5-8. This is the first time he’s been selected to represent Canada at worlds.
“I was pretty pumped,” Frey said of learning he made the cut. He was informed of his selection Aug. 24. “I applied about a month ago.”
Frey said he was a bit surprised he earned a spot on the national squad because he didn’t meet all the selection criteria, but he believes his hard work and dedication were recognized by the selection committee and this tipped the balance in his favour.
Apart from holding national records in all the events he competes in except one, Frey said his application for Team Canada was strengthened by the fact he volunteers at weightlifting competitions and that he’s only been weightlifting since 2015 so he shows promise. He’s also a fitness trainer and can share that knowledge with his fellow team members.
Frey competes in the 35- to 39-year-old age category for men who weigh 67.5 kg or 149 pounds. Within the 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation, he holds the Canadian record in the squat, deadlift, strict curl and military press along with the highest combined total. The bench press is the only event he competes in where he doesn’t hold the national record.
That’s a situation Frey wants to remedy. For worlds, he’s giving himself a goal to bench 110 kg or 242 pounds, which will earn him the national record for his age and weight. Then, he’ll hold the national record in each of his events.
His other objectives in Erie are to establish a world record strict curl and in the squat. He’d also like to complete a personal-best deadlift of 500 pounds because that’s a nice round number, he confided. Five hundred pounds is 227 kg.
Between now and the competition, Frey doesn’t plan to compete at other meets. Instead, he’s going to focus on training and developing a new training program he’s co-created with Tamara Lee Lich.
The program is called FATE, which stands for Fitness and Teaching Education. Frey explained FATE is a module he and Lich use to train kids in weightlifting. This helps young athletes get stronger and more competitive in sports like hockey and football, but would be of benefit in other disciplines, too. Another goal of the program is to improve co-ordination and boost confidence. Frey and Lich instruct FATE out of 403 Fitness, a new gym that opened in Medicine Hat.
When asked what it means to him to be accepted on Team Canada, Frey answered he’s only been weightlifting since 2015 so his selection is an endorsement of his training methods and proves his approach works. He added determination and commitment are important elements, too. “If you put in the hard work surprises happen … Just keep grinding away.”
Frey will be joined on Team Canada by Mike Moorhead, who’s also from Maple Creek. To read more about Moorhead’s weightlifting success, please read the Aug. 24 edition of the paper.
To help cover the cost of travel to the United States at a time when the Canadian dollar is weak, the athletes have started a Go Fund Me page to raise funds. If you’d like to contribute to our country’s athletes, please visit http://www.gofundme.com/4bdxlls.
NEWS PHOTO DOMINIQUE LIBOIRON
Maple Creek native Shane Frey, who has only been weightlifting competitively since 2015 and already holds multiple national records, has made Team Canada and will travel to Erie, Penn. in October to compete in his first international competition.
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