For a few days, The newspaper brings you the portraits of past glories of their sport who are still passionate about it, even though they have now reached the milestone in 70 or even 80 years.
At 89, Marcel Perron is still passionate about weightlifting, a sport he’s been into since he was 15. Leaving his home in Montreal’s Rosemont neighborhood, he took two buses and went to Saint-Léonard for training. It already shows devotion.
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Always quick-witted, he spends his weekday mornings at the Progym on Boulevard Langelier, a place he has been visiting for fifteen years and where Le Journal met him.
“I train five days a week, three hours a day. Some people come here, do an exercise and spend 15 minutes on their cell phones. I tell them to leave it at home, they are here to practice.
“If I do three hours, it’s real three hours!” he says with a grin.
When he became an orphan
It’s passion that drives Mr. Perron to hit the gym every morning of the week. Not too long ago he was even there on Saturdays.
“It’s part of my life. I’m injured everywhere and that doesn’t stop me from training. I like this sport because it’s explosive.
It’s a slice of life that led him to weightlifting, a sport he learned on his own.
“In 1948 I was orphaned and placed in Mont-Saint-Antoine. There were weights, so I started training for fun. It weighed 248 pounds and only two of us could lift it at arm’s length.
“I had neither style nor technique, we trained as best we could. I’ve never had a coach in my life.
Photo Dave Levesque
Still, he states he had a good helping hand from Serge Chrétien, a friend who coached Maude Charron, the Rimouskoise, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
Just before the Olympic Games
Marcel Perron himself almost took part in the 1960 Rome Games.
“The guy that was there, I lifted more weights than he did in training, but it just didn’t work out for me on race day,” he admits without a trace of regret.
He competed until 1976 before taking a few years off to run marathons. Without interrupting training, he returned to competition in 1983, when the class for champions, i.e. participants over 35 years of age, was created.
Since then he has won six world titles, the most recent of which was in 2019 when the world championship was held in Montreal.
“This year I would like to go to the championship that will be held in Poland in August, but it’s expensive and I’m looking for sponsors,” he admits.
Photo Dave Levesque
An example for others
It is clear that age will not stop Marcel Perron.
“Even if I have injuries, I come to training. I have many small injuries, but it works between the two ears. I am often told by young and old that I am a role model for them.
Her secret is to keep her body limber by doing lots of stretching before and after working out.
“I do over 300 flexibility moves before and after. Then I go to the sauna and take a cold shower for five minutes,” he tells us, throwing a forward kick that goes over his head as if to prove to us what he just told us.
MARCEL PERRON
- 89 years old
- He started weightlifting when he was 15
- He took part in the 1974 Commonwealth Games
- He has competed in various competitions over the years including the Senior Pan American Games, Senior Canadian Championship, Canadian Masters Championship, World Masters Championship and World Masters Games.
- He ran marathons from 1976 to 1983
- In 1983 he resumed weightlifting
- Her tips for staying in shape: Stretch before and after each workout.