'I love this sport so much': Sault powerlifter training for national finals

A year ago, Kassidy Lanteigne was doing regular workouts at the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA gym when she decided to try powerlifting.

A year later, the 22-year-old university student has won a bronze medal at a provincial powerlifting competition and is on her way to competing at the national level.

“I had been working out in the gym for about six years. I played basketball and volleyball so I wanted to weight train and be in the gym to advance myself in those sports and through that I realized that I had a knack for powerlifting, so I kept up with it,” Lanteigne told SooToday.

While working out in the YMCA’s gym in September 2022 with a group of friends, Lanteigne was encouraged to get into powerlifting at the competitive level.

“They had seen me lifting and doing pretty heavy things in the gym and that's where it all began. They recommended I should compete and a couple of weeks after that I registered for my first meet.”

Lanteigne began competing in smaller Ontario Powerlifting Association meets in Hamilton, London and Windsor, beginning her climb up the powerlifting ladder.  

“I love powerlifting. It makes me stronger both mentally and physically,” she said. 

As with any other sport, improvement comes with commitment.

“With this sport, if you want to improve and become stronger you have to consistently be pushing yourself day in and day out. It’s a challenge I love taking on every day. I’m extremely competitive. It’s a part of me,” she said. 

After her first three competitions, Lanteigne competed last summer at the Central Canadian Powerlifting Championship in Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec.

Then came the Ontario Provincial Powerlifting Championship in Belleville in October. 

Lanteigne came in third in her category, winning a bronze medal.

“It was amazing. It was like all my hard work and dedication paid off right then and there, at that moment.”

In powerlifting, each athlete performs three squats, three turns at the bench press and three deadlifts.

Her results from the Provincial Powerlifting Championship include:

• Squat - 127.5 kilograms (281 pounds)
• Bench Press - 72.5 kilograms (160 pounds)
• Deadlift - 160 kilograms (353 pounds)

By lifting a total of 360 kilograms (794 pounds) when combining her squat, bench press and deadlift results she beat her previous personal best total by 32.5 kilograms or 72 pounds.

It also qualified her for the Canadian Powerlifting Union Nationals to be held in Summerside, PEI in Sept. 2024. 

“I love constantly bettering myself,” Lanteigne said.  

“For me, qualifying for the Nationals was the biggest goal. After I did my third deadlift I could hardly believe that I even qualified for the Nationals. It was just such a validating and emotional moment. I started crying as soon as I got off the platform, to my coach.”

Lanteigne said she is looking forward to travelling to PEI to compete in the Nationals and to see the island’s natural beauty.

The deadlift is her favourite part of powerlifting.

“I love deadlifting,” she laughed.

“For me it’s the most fun event of the three. In powerlifting that’s how a lot of people see it. It’s arguably a less technical lift than the bench press and squat. There’s a lot of mechanics with those lifts whereas the dead lift is when you just pick it up off the floor, basically. It’s very fun.”

Lanteigne said she enjoys the feeling of lifting in front of a crowd.

“Everybody's so encouraging, especially on your third attempt. Everybody’s screaming and cheering ‘get it up!’ It’s an amazing feeling. It’s pretty indescribable.”   

Lanteigne said her coach Ian Seguin has been a big factor in her success.

“He provides me with all my training and is basically the brains of the operation. Working together has been extremely successful and I am grateful for all of his guidance. He’s the best.”

Lanteigne, a Sault native, graduated with a four-year Bachelor of Arts in English from Algoma University in the spring of 2023.   

She is currently studying in the University of Windsor’s Bachelor of Education program and plans to be a teacher.

Along with her busy academic schedule, Lanteigne trains in the gym five or six days a week.

“For me, working on improving myself is something that I really love. It’s something that I have to do for myself and powerlifting allows me to do that.”

Working out clears her mind after a day at school, she said.

“Having those couple of hours in the gym each day to just focus specifically on myself is, for me, really transformative.”

Lanteigne is hopeful of continued success in powerlifting.

“I love this sport so much and I feel so lucky to be able to continue my journey with it even further. Someday I would like to branch out to the U.S. or possibly internationally to compete but for now I’m focusing on the Nationals next fall.”

"As long as my body stays healthy, and hopefully no injuries, I can see myself doing this for a really long time,” Lanteigne said.