Fredericton’s Fran Harris is not new to national competitions.
In fact, she’s competed nationally in five different sports. But a new venture for the 61-year-old was competing on an international level — a childhood dream that Harris recently accomplished.
“Hard to believe that I had to be 61 before I [could] fulfil [that dream,]” said Harris. “I guess the value of never giving up becomes handy down the road.”
Harris started powerlifting in her early 50s. She competed on a national level and qualified to represent Canada at the World Masters Powerlifting Championships in St. John’s, N.L.
Powerlifting involves three categories — a squat, a bench press and a deadlift. Competitors perform three lifts in each category and the highest scores in each category are tallied up.
The squat tests the strength of the lower body and quads, the bench press involves the upper body, and the deadlift is the hamstring and back, said Harris.
As a longtime athlete, she said she always hung around the weight room, but it wasn’t until 2013, when she was introduced to CrossFit, that she learned about powerlifting.
Harris said a few things have kept her involved in the sport over the years.
She has a bad right knee and has had more than 10 surgeries on it. She said this limits what she can do athletically. She can’t bike as much and although she would love to try pickleball, she said her knee couldn’t handle it.
But weightlifting has always been something she could do.
“If my knee hurts one day, then I don’t do squats, I can do other stuff. So I think it just helps with my overall fitness and obviously my health,” said Harris.
Competing on the international stage
Harris said going to the international competition in Newfoundland was “an incredible experience.”
“Even though it was just St. John’s, when you walked into the venue, and you heard the different languages and all that, it really felt like a world championship,” she said.
Harris ended up earning a bronze medal with a total of 312.5 points. She said she was pleased with her deadlift and very pleased with her squat of 105 kilograms, although she did admit to being disappointed with her bench press.
She said she thought she would take a break, but not achieving a national record in bench makes her want to go right back and try again.
“I’ve got more room to grow if I want to. And even if I don’t want to compete again, [there’s] the health benefits that I do gain from lifting,” said Harris. “I don’t think I’ll stop lifting.”
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