Lacey Van Der Marel just broke an 11-year-old Canadian weightlifting record. But the Stoney Creek resident isn’t stopping there.
Van Der Marel, 28, set a record for her weight class in the snatch lift at Winterlift 2016 in Toronto on Feb. 6, executing a 91-kilogram lift on her third and final attempt.
“I was pretty happy about it,” said Van Der Marel. “That was kind of the intention of going to the meet. I’ve done it in training multiple times, it’s just doing it in a meet.”
At five-foot-five, 130 pounds, Van Der Marel believes she still has more to achieve.
“It didn’t feel too heavy,” she said, describing her record lift. “I feel like I have more in me.”
With more training and strong technique, Van Der Marel hopes to reach 100 kilograms on the snatch lift, her strongest event.
After hitting 91, 93 in training, I feel it’s possible,” she said.
Van Der Marel also competes in the clean and jerk, posting a 100-kilogram lift at Winterlift.
A gymnast and track star in her younger years at Orchard Park Secondary School, Van Der Marel is still relatively new to the sport of weightlifting. She began lifting weights five years ago, but has only competed for about 18 months.
She attended her first international competition in November and is now the fourth-ranked female weightlifter in Canada and first in her weight class.
After this year’s provincial championships in April, she will set her sights on the Pan American Weightlifting Federation Championships in Colombia on June 4. She’s currently holding a spot on the Canadian team, but knows the competition is fierce and the position is hers to keep or lose.
Last November’s World Championship was a qualifier for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Canada failed to earn a spot for the games, but the team has another chance to qualify at June’s Pan Am event.
Van Der Marel said Canada, at best, will likely send only one female weightlifter to Rio.
“Even if you’re the best in Canada, it doesn’t mean you get to represent Canada at the Olympics,” said Van Der Marel. The Olympics is obviously what everyone wants, but it’s just cool that I get to compete for Canada on a team that gets to compete for that spot.”
Van Der Marel has never felt better about her training. Her recovery has been solid and she’s working to perfect her technique.
“I train with a team now and I have two coaches, so it’s a little more structured and intense,” she said. “Even when I’m not training, I’m thinking about it. I know there’s a lot more in me. I have a good couple of months to add a couple of kilos to my total.”
Van Der Marel co-owns CrossFit Outlaw North in Stoney Creek, with husband Jay Rhodes. She coaches CrossFit classes and uses the facility as her main training ground. In addition, Van Der Marel works as a supply teacher, which can make for some unpredictable work mornings.
“Sometimes it’s hard,” she admits. “Sometimes if I feel a little bit overwhelmed I will take a day off and it’s not a huge deal. During the busy times it can get a little bit challenging, but you kind of get into a routine. You don’t have time to think. You get up, go teach, come home, eat, grab your stuff, come here, teach an hour or two and train until 9:30 at night. You just get used to it.”
A lifelong fitness buff, Van Der Marel plans to keep CrossFit part of her long-term routine. With its high-intensity, CrossFit is designed to promote the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running and rowing.
“I still love CrossFit and once I finish being competitive in weightlifting, I will go back to Crossfit because it’s the most fun way to stay in shape,” said Van Der Marel.
Courtesy of: Hamilton Community News