Sault powerlifter heading abroad to defend her title

Sault Ste. Marie's Holly Lasante is a month away from heading across the globe to defend her wrold powerlifting title.

Holly Lasante won a gold medal at the 2022 International Powerlifting Federation's World Masters Powerlifting Championships. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)"Last year I won gold for the World Championships, so hopefully I'll do ok when I go to Mongolia this year," she said.

The mother of three will compete at the International Powerlifting Federation's World Masters Powerlifting Championships on Oct. 9.

This will be the fifth time she represents Team Canada and Lasante told CTV News she cannot wait to join the other athletes.

"It's an individual sport but it’s so much more than that,” she said.

“Your teammates, the other people on Team Canada, are going to be screaming the loudest for you to be successful."

Lasante said she is used to travelling for competitions now, having been to Belarus and Sweden for powerlifting – though she added "Mongolia is certainly the farthest" she has gone – looking at 33 hours of air travel ahead of her.

She has also setup a GoFundMe to cover some of the expenses of the trip.

Though the sport has brought Lasante many accolades, she said its largest benefit is on her mental health.

She explained actually picked up powerlifting to combat depression and anxiety then about four or five years ago she started personal training as a way to help others.

"For me, to see people set and achieve goals, it’s amazing because it comes into every aspect of your life,” said Lasante.

“When you can build your confidence in something physical, you will carry that over into your job, how you deal with your partner, that type of thing."

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Lasante competes in the under 63kg division for women aged 50-59, stating that winners are judged on their three main compound lifts.

"My bench is about 160-165 pounds. My squat, I actually PR'ed (personal record), hit my highest squat yesterday which was 325 pounds and my deadlift is around 375 pounds," she said.

Lasante plans on sharing links to her event via social media so people back home can watch her compete for gold and look to set a world record.

Holly Lasante practicing her bench press ahead of an international powerlifting competition in October. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)