Masters lifters shine on biggest stage
There are many ways to describe Lynn Paskiewicz and Eleanor Mallow — mother, grandmother, professional.
Now they can add one more description — world-class weightlifter.
Paskiewicz won a bronze medal and Mallow placed fourth in the 2018 World Masters Weightlifting Championship at L’Hospitalet in Barcelona, Spain earlier this month.
“The fact is for people their age, they are number three and number four in the world. That’s pretty legit,” said coach Michael Spruell, who owns CrossFit Siloam Springs where the women train.
Masters championship meets are for athletes age 35 and older , and weights are varied by age and weight class. Mallow, who works as a systems analyst in John Brown University’s information technology department, competes in the 55-59 age category, and Paskiewicz, who works as a librarian at Southside Elementary School, participates in the 60-65 age category.
At the world championship, Paskiewicz faced 21 competitors from across the world in her
category. She lifted a total of 79 kg (174.17 pounds) in two events, lifting 38 kg (83.78 pounds) in the more technically difficult snatch and 41 kg (90.39 pounds) in the clean and jerk.
Mallow faced 24 competitors. She lifted a total of 84 kg (185.19 pounds), lifting 39 kg (85.98 pounds) in the snatch and 45 kg (99.21 pounds) in the clean and jerk. Despite the fact that she was fighting an injury to her foot, she also beat her personal record by 2 kg (4.4 pounds).
“The girls were amazing,” Spruell said. “We had a great time. The meet was run very well at a very high level.”
Spruell and fellow coach Liz Kinnaman accompanied the two women on their trip to Spain. Paskiewicz and Mallow had lots of support from the community and through a series of fundraisers, they were able to raise enough money to pay for most of the cost of the trip for themselves and their coaches.
A highlight for Mallow was getting to meet people from all over the world, she said. About 900 people from around the globe participated and about 200 entries were from the U.S. In her category alone, Mallow competed against people from countries such as Germany, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, Austria and Bulgaria.
“They have some pretty good lifters,” she said.
Paskiewicz had been struggling with perfecting her style and only two of her six lifts passed the judges approval. She estimated that she was in fifth place, so when her name was called to receive the bronze medal it was a big surprise, she said.
Another highlight for both the women was getting to compete on a weightlifting platform that was used in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Spruell was pleased that Paskiewicz and Mallow finished so well in their first international competition.
“They really showed up and did really well,” he said. “They represented Siloam Springs well.”
In April, Paskiewicz and Mallow qualified for the world championship at the National Masters Weightlifting Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., and Paskiewicz brought home a first place.
As soon as nationals were over, the two women started a very gruelling training routine in preparation for the world championship, Spruell said. They began with a lot of strength training and as the event got closer, they focused more on technique and heavier weights, he said.
“It was a hard program,” he said.
After the competition in Barcelona, the group took a day trip to Paris where they visited sights such as the Louvre Museum, the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Sainte-Chapelle royal chapel and the Eiffel Tower.
Paskiewicz and Mallow are both living proof that CrossFit is for anyone. Paskiewicz started doing CrossFit about five years ago as a way to stay in shape so she can care for her seven special needs children, some of whom she has to lift on a daily basis. She also has five grandchildren.
Paskiewicz said that CrossFit is a stress reliever and gives her a mental break. Mallow, who is raising three of her granddaughters, agrees. She remembers a time when she had trouble getting out of a chair. Her workout routine has helped her lose more than 80 pounds and now her grandchildren have trouble keeping up with her.
When Paskiewicz returned home from Barcelona, her family greeted her with a party, including balloons and streamers.
“They were so proud, they had all signed a card that said ‘awesome job,’” she said.
Mallow said her granddaughters also gave her a warm welcome, complete with happy tears.
Paskiewicz said for the first time in her education career, she missed the first week of school because of the competition, but her students at Southside Elementary School have been very excited to see her medal.
Mallow and Paskiewicz are already making plans for next year. They hope to qualify for the national and world championships so Paskiewicz can defend her titles and Mallow can move up in the rankings.
“Nationals will be in Salt Lake City (Utah) and then worlds will be in Montreal, Quebec, (Canada),” Mallow said. “Two years from now, (the world championship is) in Germany and three years from now it’s in Japan, so I’m going to start saving my pennies now.”