Making strong impressions

POWERLIFTING is a three-movement (squat, bench press, and deadlift) sport that is growing on Malaysian soil. In fact, there are fellow Malaysians who have had broken, and are holding world records in the sport.
Gee Ci Long is one of them. Although he was a national tennis player in his teens and a tennis coach after that, he only started training “quite seriously” in the gym mid-2015, and participated in a powerlifting meet for the first time in November that year.
“I participated in the powerlifting meet for fun, and I found out that my numbers were pretty decent and close to world records, so early last year I decided to train for it and that was how the journey started,” said Gee.
The 29-year-old became the first Malaysian to emerge as champion of the under-60kg men category at the 2016 Global Powerlifting Alliance (GPA) World Championship, adding a world record to seven more he broke within the year!
Tell us more about your experience at the GPA World Championship.
It was a crazy experience. The championship was held in Moscow, Russia in December, so the temperature outdoors was at -16°C. It was my first time lifting in a subfreezing winter environment, and then there was the language barrier and whatnot. They all posed a very unique experience for me. Due to the conditions, I did not perform as I wanted to, but I’m happy to still manage to walk away with these achievements.
Were there other highlights on top of your achievements?
That has to be watching Yury Belkin – one of the best lifters around – lift in person. I had priority access to watch him and was basically less than two metres away from him. Belkin is someone that I look up to because we are similar in build, albeit he’s heavier. Watching him lift in real life – and not just on Instagram – is really surreal.
Do you think Malaysia could be a big player in the international powerlifting arena?
I certainly think so. Considering that it is a new sport here, there already are Malaysians holding world records – it certainly bodes well for the future. The ball is already rolling, and more people are involving themselves in the sport.
Apart from powerlifting, you also do other forms of sports that involve weightlifting, namely CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting. What are the key differences between these sports, and which do you prefer?
Each sport requires different things. CrossFit requires stamina, and weightlifting is a lot about technique. While powerlifting is also about technique, one needs to take time to focus on each of the three main movements which are very different.
In terms of the fun factor, I definitely prefer CrossFit because it’s done in a group setting and we get to challenge one another right in the moment.
Powerlifting, on the other hand, is all about that one lift that sets the highest number and that’s it. Hence, in terms of competition, I prefer the latter because the sport is segregated by weight categories. For weightlifting, I enjoy the technique growth that I can achieve without looking at the numbers. But ultimately, it’s the gym community that I do these sports for.
With the many world records under your belt, what’s next for you?
Last year, I made the rookie mistake of entering too many competitions – I blame that on my over enthusiasm about the sport, which resulted in my signing up for every single tournament that I could. Hence, this year I plan to space out the competitions with at least three months of break in between. I’ll also be participating in some weightlifting and CrossFit competitions, to bring some variety into my training.
TRIVIA
Squat: 141kg.
Bench press: 102.5kg.
Deadlift: 205kg.