Ricardo Fitzpatrick proves once again that you cannot keep a good man’s weights down

At last weekend’s Commonwealth bench-press championships in Sun City Kimberley strong man Ricardo Fitzpatrick did it again.

Taking on lifters from England and Canada, Fitzpatrick claimed the gold medal in the Masters 1 Under-83kg section with a lift of 150kg. And though gold is an impressive achievement, Fitzpatrick knows that he is still some way off his best.

His best lift is the 175kg which helped him win nationals back in 2018, the same year as the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia where he eventually ended up being ranked seventh. In Sun City this time, he only managed to lift 150kg.

ALSO READ: Ricardo Fitzpatrick adds another international gold to his collection

In recent months Fitzpatrick won his division at the Asian/Pacific/African championships in Potchefstroom – his eighth international title for South Africa. This set the platform for this past weekend’s triumph in Sun City, and is further proof that Fitzpatrick has been on an impressive comeback trail.

One of our own, reigning African bench press champion Ricardo Fitzpatrick is hard at work training for the upcoming World Bench Press Championship scheduled to take place from May 19 to 27, in Sun City. Watch here as he lifts a 100kg Reverse Grip Bench Press @alvinbotes pic.twitter.com/cVV2nDUueh

— MyNorthernCapeTV (@myncapetv) May 16, 2023

In April, the DFA reported on how the lifter was forced to withdraw from the South African Bench Press Team set to compete in the World Bench Press Championships in Austin, USA, slated for May due to lack of funding.

Because of the financial constraints and the protracted and costly visa process, he missed the registration deadline, shattering his aspirations of competing on the global stage. Projections at the time suggested that Fitzpatrick could have clinched silver or bronze at the championship, based on nominations positioning him second or third.

ALSO READ: Fitzpatrick pushes past struggles to yet another title

But for Fitzpatrick, who turns 44 in November, and having competed since the age of 18, the fight is far from over. He still has ambitions for the future and is steadily building towards peak form again.

But though Fitzpatrick has proved that raising the physical bar comes naturally following hard work and dedication, raising funding is something else entirely.

SASCOC, the governing body for South African sports, typically provides funding for events like the Commonwealth Games. However, the SA Powerlifting Federation, as a nonprofit organisation, has very limited funds for other international competitions.

It’s worth considering that some business or organisation would not do their reputation any harm by associating themselves and supporting an eight-time international powerlifting champion.