Weightlifter Ryan still going strong at 72

AT THE age of 72, one expects that an individual will be enjoying the twighlight of his years in peace and tranquillity. Ralph Ryan, on the other hand, is making the best out of his opportunities, to show the public that age is just a number. During the Trinidad and Tobago Powerlifting and Olympic Weight-lifting Federation’s National Champion-ships, held last October at the Athletes Lounge, Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, the diminutive Ryan stunned all in attendance by placing second in the 148-pound class. “I did 130 pounds in the box press, 230 pounds in the full squat and deadlifted 180 pounds,” said Ryan during a recent interview.

Ryan noted that he has been competing since the 1940s and 1950s, where he was a tough challenger to 1948 Olympic medallist Rodney Wilkes. Originally from Palo Seco, the five-foot tall Ryan noted that he held his own during those days when weightlifting was one of the leading sports in Trinidad, but confessed that he was denied a spot to compete at the international level by the local authorities. Displaying no tinge of bitterness Ryan, who trains at the Super Power Gym in Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain, keeps soldiering on, with the aim of squatting 300 pounds and half-squatting 400 pounds before he ends his long-standing career in the sport.

The soft-spoken Ryan admits that his love for sport keeps him going but is strongly against the use of drugs in sports, and calls for stiffer penalties for anyone found liable of such offences. Ryan’s trainer is Winston Yearwood, who states that he has worked with the septuagenarian for two years. “He is a phenomenon,” said Yearwood. “He is a very proud guy who believes in himself and what he’s doing.” Yearwood, who also works with a number of Trinidad and Tobago’s leading boxers, added: “He (Ryan) feels that he can make it competitively, even though he has moved from weightlifting to powerlifting.” Ryan, who currently resides in Barataria, is preparing for the 2004 National Championships at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo in September.