USAWA

By Bill Clark

For a variety of reasons, this year’s Backbreaker, named for Steve Schmidt, the original organizer of this event, which, for years, was named the USAWA National Heavy Lift Championship, had only two serious competitors and one has-been who called it a day after one event.

John Carter, who has won the event many times, added another title in his Hall of Fame career. Tony Lupo was Carter’s sidekick. It was Tony’s second year in the event, and he set personal records in all but the back lift.

The has-been was your newsletter editor who has battled the tag end of an earlier mild bout of the corona virus – which has been slow to move on, leaving the Old Guy with shortness of breath and fatigue, both of which are slowly improving but have kept him from doing his proposed 90 different lifts at age 90.

Ol’ Clark did a 565-lb. hip lift at a bodyweight of 202 pounds – and called it a day. His 565 was only the second hip lift recorded by a 90-year-old. The other was 450 done by Art Montini in the 85-kilo class not long before he died. Your editor hopes that is not a hidden message to the latest 90-year-old effort.

The results:

Lifter	Age	Division	weight	class	Backlift	Harness Lift	Hip Lift	Hand and Thigh	Neck Lift	Total	Adjusted
John Carter	64	60	215	100	1505*	2000	1605	800	245	6155	6607.39
Tony Lupo	56	55	236	110	925	1400	1055	510	275	4165	3,973.98
Bill Clark	90	90	202	95			565*			565

Bodyweight is listed in pounds.  All weights are listed in pounds.  The one official system was used.  Officials in this meet were Bill Clark and Tony Lupo. All national records are denoted with an asterisk (*).