Mansfield weightlifter Xavier Lusignan is one step closer to his goal of qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games after setting a Canadian record at a recent international competition.
The stage was the Pan-American Weightlifting Championships, a tournament the 21-year-old had won twice as a junior for Team Canada but still had not cracked as a senior athlete.
After a close battle with a Mexican opponent, Lusignan posted a score of 206 kg in the clean-and-jerk, both a personal best and a new Canadian record. This, combined with his score from the snatch event, edged him into a third-place tournament finish.
He said he didn’t expect to do so well considering he was still recovering from wrist and hip injuries, and is still adjusting to a heavier weight class since joining the senior bracket last year.
“I felt like there was still stuff I could improve on before going. I wasn’t feeling super ready for this one, so I was kind of surprised,” he said in an interview the week after the competition.
Lusignan has been competing internationally for Canada since the age of 17. He earned gold at an international competition in Peru in 2022, and since moving up to the senior circuit set a Canadian record in the clean-and-jerk in his previous weight class.
He said it has been tough making a name for himself as a senior athlete, but he leans on his hard work and determination to give him the edge over older opponents.
During the day, Lusignan is a full-time business student at Université du Québec en Outaouais, but trains with weights six nights a week in pursuit of his goal – to become the best weightlifter in his class.
“What drives me is that I have unfinished business with the sport. I’m in this to be number one, I train every day to be the best,” he said. “My goal is to go to the Olympics, win medals there, be a world champion. So I’m in it [ . . . ] to be at the top of the hill for sure.”
Lusignan has his sights set on the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, but has an important hurdle to climb first. While his personal best is at 376 kg, he will likely need to lift 400 kg between the two lifting events just to qualify.
He said in the coming years he is going to take particular care of his body and put in the work needed to reach that milestone. “The key is to stay healthy and keep working on my weaknesses [ . . . ] I think I’ll be able to get that 24 kilos by 2028 for sure,” he said.
Lusignan said it’s an honour to represent his hometown on the biggest stage for his sport.
“It’s kind of mind-blowing to think that I come from a small village of Mansfield, but if you work hard and stay disciplined anything’s possible,” he said.
Lusignan’s younger sister Naomie also competes for Team Canada, though she is still a junior. In the past two months alone, she won the Canadian juniors and placed third in the Canadian seniors. She also placed sixth in the world juniors in May.
“I’m taking a break right now to build strength,” she said in a message. She will age out of the junior division next year.
Xavier will travel to Norway in October for the world championships, and will be part of a 16-athlete contingent that will try to bring home a medal at what he says is the biggest competition in his sport.
“I might even say it’s bigger than the Olympics [ . . . ] If you win the world championship, you’re the real champion, in my opinion.”
Both siblings will be competing for Team Quebec at the Canada Games in St. John’s, Newfoundland later in August.
