On Dec. 4, 2021 18-year old Xavier Lusignan of Mansfield won the junior Ontario weightlifting competition [for two years in a row] with a lift of 133 kilos in the snatch category, and 168 kilos in the clean and jerk category.

With this weight, he beat his own . . .

previous record lifts in both events which pushed him to the top of his junior ranking designating him Quebec’s strongest man in the spring of 2021’s Canadian Junior Championship. At the time, his record-setting lifts were 118 kilos in the snatch category and 145 kilos in the clean and jerk category.

This past July Lusignan competed for the first time in the Columbia Junior Pan-American Championship, where he won the designation of Canada’s strongest man in his class, with a snatch lift of 141 kilos and a clean and jerk lift of 170 kilos.

Olympic weightlifting requires two movements; the snatch movement uses a wide grip to lift a barbell. This movement consists of using one’s legs and whole body to lift the bar in one motion over one’s head in a squat position. Meanwhile the clean and jerk is the same concept, but uses a closer grip on the bar and one must throw it in one motion to the shoulders with a brief pause before pushing it overhead. In competitions, athletes have three lift opportunities in each of these categories.

Lusignan’s participation in the Pan-am competition was made possible because of fundraising efforts that were put together by members of his community. “It was a huge support and makes me very proud to represent my community and the Pontiac,” he added.

Lusignan’s interest in the sport was sparked when he began doing gymnastics at the age of eight. “There happened to be weightlifting equipment in the basement and one time my dad tried it out. When he asked me if I wanted to try it out I said ‘yes’ and that’s when I fell in love with weightlifting,” said Lusignan.

Though it’s not a sport that is widely practiced in the area, Lusignan began training at their home gym before he was able to find a professional gym to practice in.

“Because of where we are geographically the weightlifting community is very small and there is no Olympic weightlifting gym in the Outaouais, but we were just lucky enough to find a gym in Pembroke,” he said.

Lusignan was practicing at the gym at least three times a week, but since he is now attending the Cégep de l’Outaouais in Hull, he does his weight training at a crossfit gym there because they have the space and equipment he needs.

“I’ve been training since I’m eight years old, I’m very passionate about it and I want to be the best in the world. I’ve been dreaming about it since I started.”

Currently studying natural science, Lusignan plans to go to University, though he is not yet certain about his field of study.

“I’m looking at all my different options and the opportunities that will present themselves to me,” said Lusignan.

Being part of a program called l’Alliance Sport-Étude grants him more time to finish his study program, while allotting him the time for training camps and participating in competitions.

Lusignan’s first competition was at 12-years old in the Ray Hamilton Classic in North Bay with lifts of 36 kilos in the snatch category and 46 kilos in the clean and jerk category. While he’s come a long way since, he attributes a large part of his passion and determination to success in his sport to the ongoing support of his family and his weightlifting coaches, Justin Spencer, and Hani Kanama.

“I am a very disciplined and very focused athlete. I maintain good nutrition, sleep and training, I do a lot of mobility work, I keep my body healthy and take care of my life to keep a balance that aligns very well, and I can perform my best in competition,” he told The Equity. “It’s not always easy but I enjoy it.”

“I’ve been training since I’m eight years old, I’m very passionate about it and I want to be the best in the world. I’ve been dreaming about that since I started, he added.

Though he’s not 100 percent sure it will be in 2024, Lusignan has his sights set on competing in the Olympics, adding that 2028 or 2032 are looking like good possibilities for him as well.

“We [he and his team of trainers] will keep our heads up, even if we don’t get selected to go to Paris in 2021, we will keep training hard and we’ll get there eventually,” Lusignan concluded.

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