Weightlifting: Ashley to weight for his Euro gold

Jul 24 2009 by Andrew Welsh, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PERTHSHIRE powerlifter Ashley Sinclair narrowly failed to add a European gold medal to his world title in controversial circumstances.

The Scone strongman was denied a gold medal at the sport’s continental championships in France after judges ruled out his apparently legitimate winning lift on a technicality.

With Ashley tied for first place in the masters’ category with a French lifter after registering 130kg on the bench press, a split decision by host nation officials at Bourbon Lancy disqualified the Scot’s final round effort at 135kg, and he lost out on body weight rules to his half-a-stone-lighter rival.

Despite the disappointing outcome, the Abbey Road resident told PA Sport he bore no grudges against the World Drug Free Powerlifting Association.

“There are three judges looking at each competitors’ lift,” Ashley explained.

“I was given two red lights and a white light. They had deemed it to be an unsatisfactory lift.

“It seems there was an uneven locked weight. It went up but in their opinion it was not parallel.”

Lifting for the GB team, Ashley’s second round bench press of 130kg had tied him for first place.

Had his final lift stood it would have clinched outright gold as his opponent failed at the same weight.

But the 59-year-old powerhouse admitted he was philosophical about the outcome having only taken up masters’ events two years ago.

“It was an infringement we don’t hear quoted often but I don’t feel particularly hard done by,” said the local Sports Council member.

“The rules are the rules. I was happy to have succeeded in my mind with the 135kg while the other chap didn’t make it at all.”

Mr Sinclair’s decision to re-enter the competitive ring was vindicated when he won the world title for the 50-60 age group in Belgium last year.

Mr Sinclair, who has run Forgandenny-based agricultural machinery firm TRP Scotland for 33 years, hopes to successfully defend his crown at the 2009 tourney in Bradford in September.

He will be cheered on by his fiance Leslie, from The Black Isle, and his Logiealmond-based coach Charles Harris.

“The European Championships were the lead-up to the Worlds,” said Ashley.

“There are no other events before then. It’ll just be a case of getting on with the training in the meantime.

“I am training four nights a week on the free weights in Perth and up in a gym in Inverness at the weekends.

“It’s all about doing the groundwork just now without going for personal bests. Come August I’ll decrease the repetitions to sets of two or three and up the weight.

“That way I can put in an all-out effort at the contest.”