At 90, Marcel Perron still has the fire and won the Grandmaster title at the Masters Weightlifting Championships two weeks ago.
You may remember Mr. Perron as he was the subject of a series of reports published earlier this summer about athletes who were still invested in their sport despite their advanced age.
On August 18th, the Montrealer beat the competition in Wieliczka, Poland and won the title of Grandmaster.
He then competed in the “Young Youth” category, the 85-year-old category, as there is no category for those over 90 years old.
That’s not bad for an enthusiast who started weightlifting in 1948 and took a break in 1976 to run marathons for a few years before returning to his first love.
Unsatisfied
The weightlifter not only won the title in his category, but also triumphed over all athletes present.
“I aimed for grandmaster. Each athlete has a coefficient based on their body weight, age and what they train. I averaged 538 and the second guy did 430 or 440,” he explains.
But he is still not satisfied with his result. He wanted to achieve a better result.
“I’m disappointed because I could have achieved a 600 average. And the boys immediately notice that I’m not happy.”
The coefficient takes into account the results of the snatch and clean and jerk.
Marcel Perron trains five times a week for at least two hours. Chantal Poirier / JdeM
Tough judges
And how can one explain that he did not achieve his goal? Because the judges were a bit harsh.
“I managed 40 kilos in the snatch. My goal was to weigh at least 100 kilos in total.”
He almost made it, but the judges decided otherwise.
“All three moves and pushes were rejected because I was happy that I had done 50 kilos and raised my leg in excitement, and the judges ruled that my attempts were invalid.
“With time, maybe I’ll learn,” he says, expressionless.
Immortal
Marcel Perron was on his sixth or seventh victory as grandmaster, he is no longer sure.
He also received a great honor when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Masters Weightlifting Association.
“I should have received it last year, but I couldn’t go to the competition in the United States.”
Marcel Perron is already starting to think about the next World Cup, which will take place in Finland next summer. But first he has to treat an injury to his left wrist that is bothering him.
“I don’t have any competition planned until 2024.”
But he continues to train as he is in the gym five mornings a week. He only trains for “two hours” a day, when he has already spent up to three hours training every day. We know many younger people who do less.
Marcel Perron started weightlifting in 1948. This photo is from 1962. Courtesy
Help
Mr. Perron doesn’t know exactly how much his trip to Poland cost him, but he received a lot of support that made it possible for him to go there.
The ProGym where he trains offered him financial support. In addition, customers were generous and donated him a large jug of water, which was emptied for the occasion. It wasn’t unusual to see $50 or $100 bills in the container during the summer.
In addition, the owner of Meubles Reno offered him $2,600 to cover the cost of his plane ticket.