Local Athlete Participates in Weightlifting Competition

Karakwakta Thompson knows about dedication, persistence and commitment. She has those qualities imbedded into every part of her weightlifting training and competition. Her competitions take her throughout Ontario and she’s training to compete in the Toronto Super Show in June. Karakwakta recently competed in the Ontario Scholastic Competition at Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario on Saturday, April 6, 2013. She competes in two lifts – the snatch and the clean and jerk.

Weightlifting is an individual sport, you can’t blame the missed shot, goal, or lift on your teammate, and it’s all focused on you, the lifter. If you are a hockey, soccer or lacrosse player, weightlifting can strengthen every aspect of your body by making you faster and more powerful.

A weightlifter has two minutes to walk out to the platform, set her/himself up for the lift and execute the lift. The platform is set in front of an audience so the weightlifter has to mentally prepare for the lift as well as physically. The actual lift takes a scant 8 seconds, but preparing and training for a lift takes hours and hours. Karakwakta works out four to five times a week for at least 2 hours a day. Karakwakta is a member of the Cornwall Weightlifting Club and she trains at the Caveman Strong (Crossfit) gym in Cornwall under the direction of Tyler Touchette and Kyle Pichie. Under Touchette and Pichie’s tutelage Karakwakta lifts twice her weight and is often the youngest competitor in her weight and age division. She is currently the only Aboriginal/Native American competitive weight lifter in Ontario – male or female.

According to Touchette, “She has the most potential of every lifter on my team. There are 25 lifters on my team. Her body dimensions are perfect for the sport of weightlifting. She is tiny and she is very strong. This is what we look for when selecting athletes. She has a huge future in this sport; she can go as far as competing nationally and at the Olympic level. Her biggest enemy is the emotional/mental part. For now. She is young and she has a lot going on.” But with any young athlete they have a lot going on – school, friends, Facebook, boys, and the drama of it all. Behind every great athlete is a great support system and the person who helps Karakwakta balance all of this is her parents Tasha and Conway Thompson of Kawehnoke.

Karakwakta Thompson is a fifteen year old young woman, a powerful person within herself and on the platform lifting, and with the support of her parents, grandparents and a strong blanket of cousins, she has the potential, support and focus to lift herself to glory and pick everyone up along the way.