The road to powerlifting wasn’t a quick one for Sault Ste. Marie’s Esther Gartshore, but it’s turned into a successful one.
Gartshore was one of a pair of Sault natives competing at the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s national championship in Richmond, B.C. in February, coming away with a podium finish at the event.
Gartshore said getting involved in powerlifting was “kind of a long road.”
A teacher, Gartshore said she began learning barbell lifts with the help of some local coaches and did some weightlifting and powerlifting and got into functional fitness as well.
“All that other stuff just fell away, and I was just left with the barbell (which) is what really made me feel the best,” Gartshore said. “I could see progression.”
“When you get the feedback and you start building muscle and gaining strength and start putting more and more weight on the bar, it’s really something to strive for.”
The support of athletes at the events is something that stands out for Gartshore as well.
“Everybody sort of stops what they’re doing and keeps an eye on the monitor because there’s big monitors in the athlete area or peeks behind the curtain to see how the lift is going to go,” Gartshore said, adding that the cheers and encouragement comes even for less experienced competitors who may be lifting a personal best.
“It’s really inclusive and really encouraging,” Gartshore added. “Everybody gets respect for the work that they do.”
Gartshore said getting to compete in nationals was “super exciting.”
“I got to compete in nationals in 2020 right before the pandemic, right before everything shut down,” Gartshore said. “So, I hadn’t competed until August, I started competing, doing the competition cycle for this year. I had to requalify for everything.”
To requalify, Gartshore competed in a number of events leading up to the nationals in Richmond, B.C. in February.
“It was a super well run event,” Gartshore said. “It’s nice to be surrounded by all these people that are passionate about the same sport that you do at different age levels, different sizes.”
The event had a pair of Sault athletes competing as Holly Lasante was also at the event.
Gartshore said it was the first time the two had met and ended up on the same flight en route to the event.
“She was very encouraging,” Gartshore said of her fellow Sault competitor. “She really pumped me up. I had actually came in (to the competition) with a broken foot. I broke my foot a few weeks before the competition, so I had the highs and lows of ‘Am I even going to be able to compete?’”
“Holly saw me coming in my boot, I had my walking cast on, before I changed in to my competition shoes, and she was super encouraging,” Gartshore added. “She was really friendly.”
Gartshore is in the midst of a year off from her teaching position locally and has used the year to train and compete and said she has enjoyed the experience.
“I’m loving my year off training, being in the gym, and pushing my body to see what it can do and not have that work stress,” Gartshore said. “I don’t have to worry about deadlines, report cards, and marking and all of that stuff. It’s super fun and I can share all of these experiences with my students when I get back.
Gartshore said she’s considering some strongman training to break up her powerlifting training before getting back into running training with plans of potentially competing in the North American powerlifting championships later this year.