CIU Hosted Powerlifting Competition

In cooperation with the TRNC Weightlifting Bodybuilding Federation and the Turkish Powerlifting Federation, the Powerlifting competition was hosted by Cyprus International University (CIU) at the CIU Arena.

Turkish Powerlifting Federation Committee Chairman Ozan Erkan Kumit stated that powerlifting is a sport based on weight lifting that consists of squat, bench press and deadlift movements, and this year nineteen men and women  participated in the Powerlifting competition.

Kumit noted that usually they had eight weight lifting categories and different age groups; however, since the number of participants were not as high as expected, they all competed in the open division. 

CIU Arena Coordinator Tarkan Kayaş stated that as a university every year they host such events and said that a Powerlifting Competition was hosted for the first time by CIU and that they will continue to organize such events in collaboration with the TRNC Weightlifting Bodybuilding Federation.

TRNC Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Federation National Team Athlete Mehmet Ali Deniz stated that powerlifting has gained a lot of popularity in the TRNC, and if given the opportunity, everyone will be more involved in this sport. He believes that the athletes in the TRNC will achieve good results in competitons  as their counterparts in Turkey do.

In the competition, in women’s weightlifting Fulya Cankurt was the 74 kg champion and İrem Yeltekin was the 61 kg champion; and in  men’s weightlifting Rüştü Eren (66 kg), Tolga Kansu (83kg), Mehmet Üzüncü (74kg), Hüsnü Batıkent (93kg), and Mehmet Ali Deniz (105kg) were the winners in their respective categories.  
At the end of the competition, medals and trophies were presented to the athletes.