By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

POWERLIFTING is not the most popular sport in The Bahamas by any means but that has not stopped Bahamian powerlifter Kraschanda Oliver from carving out her own path to success.

Just a few months removed from winning the women’s powerlifting title in January, Oliver won again in the women’s raw open 90kg class at the USA Powerlifting Ghost Summer Slam 2 in Miami, Florida, two weeks ago.

The win was particularly significant as she also managed to qualify for the 2024 USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals scheduled to take place September 5-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah, which was a big goal of hers.

The 35-year-old acknowledged that she found it “surprising” to witness herself continue to surpass different milestones after being in the sport for less than a year. “It is definitely something that surprises me not because I do not think I am good at it but because I continue to exceed my own expectations in this arena. I am hoping to do the same thing at Nationals in Utah on September 8. We have about 16 weeks of training and I am back in training now so I am looking forward to bringing home another title on a larger scale and bigger stage. It is definitely something I have to bring my A-game for,” Oliver said.

The qualifying standard for the powerlifting nationals for the women’s 90kg class was 445kg (981 lbs). The powerlifter notched 162.5kg (358 lbs) in the squat. She bench pressed 95kg (209 lbs) and deadlifted a personal best 192.5kg (424 lbs). The total of the three rounded up to 450kg (992 lbs).

After hitting a new personal best, Oliver and her coach Dominique Munroe will be working towards a new mark for the next 16 weeks heading into the USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals.

“Preparation for nationals is gonna be a bit different because we are trying to get a different total. We are trying to raise my numbers significantly. I am going for a 500 plus deadlift so I am gonna see how that works out for me. The intensity has went up a lot and my coach Dominique Munroe has created a different programme for me to try this time to see how it works out. It is always very hard and never easy but I am prepared for it and to get in there and make it happen,” she said.

The Bahamian powerlifter has worked as a personal trainer for over seven years and finally made the decision to compete in powerlifting starting with her first show in January where she was awarded best female powerlifter. Despite her many successes in such a short time, she noted that the journey is sometimes a gruelling one.

“I know people look at me and think it comes easy but it doesn’t. You are not always motivated. You do not always wanna train. My manager and bestfriend Cache Armbrister trains with me sometimes and if I do not have that motivation and push sometimes it can be difficult. However, you still have to find that for yourself when you are alone and I train 80 per cent of the time by myself. It is something you really and truly have to want,” she said.

With that being said, Oliver is locked in and ready to take on the next milestone.

“It is something you have to mentally prepare yourself for. I am preparing myself for it and I am ready. If I have done the other training and I wasn’t prepared then, I know I am definitely more prepared now seeing that I have trained before. It is gonna be intense but I am hoping to document this training a bit better so people can see the process,” she added.

She will train over the next few months for the USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals in early September.