Powerlifting glory for Moate's Caroline as she wins first European Masters gold medal

After podium finishes in several major championships over the years, Westmeath powerlifter Caroline Cunniffe reached a new pinnacle in the sport when she claimed her first ever European Masters gold medal this month.

The championships were held in Torremolinos, Malaga, from February 12-18, and Caroline said she was "beyond excited" to receive her first gold medal and become the new Masters 3 under 63kg European champion.

"It was an amazing experience. To be on the podium and hear the Irish anthem being played was surreal for me. It was a moment to remember!" she told the Westmeath Independent.

The Moate resident was competing in her sixth major international event since taking up powerlifting in 2016. She previously claimed bronze at the World Masters in Canada in 2022, and silver at last year's European championships in Hungary.

Her gold medal success was all the more impressive given that Caroline was moving up in weight, to 63kg, having competed in previous years at 57kg.

"Moving up in weight, I wasn't expecting to win anything, genuinely. I just thought I'd be building into the weight class because I had gone from 57kg to 63kg, and I was just weighing around 60kg.

"I knew there were a couple of people who were much stronger than me at squat, but, as I often say to people, it all depends on the day.

"I had a great day, and some of the others didn't have a good day, so it was just the way it worked out."

Her goal going into the event was to lift a milestone 100kg in squat, which she achieved, and she followed this with a national record lift of 52.5kg in bench, and deadlift of 125kg.

"That gave me a total of 277.5kg, which was a new Irish record but also gave me the gold medal as European champion."

However she said she didn't realise she was the overall winner until all of her events had been completed and her coach came over to deliver the good news.

"I had my last pull taken and I still didn't know (about the gold medal) until the head coach came over and said it to me," she said.

"I had gone in with my own agenda. I was just focused on what I wanted to get out of the competition and basically just wanted to go and enjoy it. There was no pressure on me, because I didn't expect to get anything."

In addition to training at the Athlone Regional Sports Centre, Caroline trains on the weekends under coach Deividas Barisas at the ABS powerlifting gym in Finglas.

She said her European success was watched back by her biggest fan, her grandson Deegan Hopkins, who lives in the United States.

Sporting prowess clearly runs in the family, because the same week that Caroline was winning gold in Spain, Deegan was representing New Jersey with distinction at a Junior Olympics cross country relay event!

Caroline added that powerlifting was becoming increasingly popular at Masters level, with Ireland sending its largest-ever team of 26 competitors to the European championships.

She was one of three Irish powerlifters to return home with overall gold medals.

"It's getting more popular and it's also becoming so competitive. The (weights) that people are lifting are just unreal," she said.

"There might have been a time when people thought Masters (powerlifting) was of a lesser standard but, my God, some of the men were lifting 300kg squats! They were just phenomenal. So the standard is really high."