Barry Wright
The third time was a charm for Noah Santavy.
Competing in his third consecutive Canadian Junior Weightlifting Championships in Regina, he punched his ticket this month to the national senior event in suburban Vancouver with a strong third place finish in the 77-kilo category.
The 17-year-old had personal bests of 113 kilos in the Snatch and 133 kilos in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 246 kilos. The qualifying standard to compete at the national level was 239 kilos.
“I went six for six,” he said, referring to successfully completing three lifts in each discipline. “I hadn't done that in a long time.”
Santavy, the second-youngest competitor in his weight class, finished behind a pair of 19-year-old lifters from Quebec.
Turning his sights to the Canadian Senior event in May, the Grade 12 St. Patrick’s High School student says he's excited about the opportunity, even though he's venturing into uncharted territory.
“I don't really know who I'm going to be up against, so my goal is to finish as high as possible,” he said.
His lifts in Regina would have placed him in the top half of the 30-man field in his weight class at the national senior championships last year, and within two kilos of cracking the top ten.
Santavy hopes a solid performance in B.C. in the spring will qualify him for a spot at the World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tokyo in 2017. He's not yet aware what the qualifying standard will be for the global competition.
Meantime, any butterflies Santavy might have heading into the national senior championships should be eased by solid family support.
His older brother Boady has qualified with a first place finish in the 85-kilo category at the national juniors while his father, Dalas, is his coach.