REAL Strength Gym Castlemaine powerlifters have excelled at last weekend's Melbourne Strength Challenge.
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![REAL STRENGTH: Daniel Pollard, Ashleigh Hutchins and coach Dean Mawby have produced remarkable results at a powerlifting competition in Melbourne. REAL STRENGTH: Daniel Pollard, Ashleigh Hutchins and coach Dean Mawby have produced remarkable results at a powerlifting competition in Melbourne.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j98Hh85wiUB5yeTBh2fLTR/4dbec69d-4c6d-4e9a-9209-5550e9de52a8.jpg/r0_878_2624_2654_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Lifting in her first competition, Bendigo's Ashleigh Hutchins won the 63 kg women’s title.
The 22-year-old made personal bests in squat (120kg) bench press (55kg) and deadlift (105).
Her coach Dean Mawby said Hutchins had been lifting at Real Strength for six months and amazed the competition with her double body weight squat attempt.
Daniel Pollard lifted in his first competition since early 2000 and squatted 200kg, and deadlifted 220kg, both 15 kgs above his personal best.
That placed him fourth overall in the stacked 105kg weight class division.
Not to be outdone, coach Mawby won the over 120kg class division with personal best lifts in the squat of 270kg, deadlift (265kg) for a total of 692.5kgs.
The 47-year-old said conditions were stifling in a roomed packed with 200 spectators and 60 competitors.
"Yet the Real Strength team stood up well in the conditions," he said.
Meanwhile, Mawby said fellow Real Strength lifter Kevin Gray was ahead of schedule for his April attempt at a world squat record.
Gray set a new national 59kg class record in December with a remarkable 222.5kg squat.
In Sydney next month, the 32-year-old from Bendigo will aim to break the world record of 227.5 kg, currently held by Sergey Fedsienko.
The Russian legend is the owner of 10 world titles, won between 2003 and 2015.