TRURO, N.S. – Jevan McNutt had no plans to compete in weightlifting when he began doing CrossFit workouts, but he’s now a medal-winning competitor.
He recently brought home the silver medal from the Canadian Junior Weightlifting Championship, held in Halifax on Jan. 20.
“My goal was to be on the podium, and to be on the podium in Halifax, in front of so many people I know, was pretty special,” he said.
McNutt began working out at CrossFit Hubtown in 2015, in order to gain more strength for hockey.
Amanda Thomson, an owner of the gym, first mentioned weightlifting to him.
“I didn’t want to do it at first,” he said. “I decided to try and I took part in my first weightlifting competition in the fall of 2015 and did pretty well.”
He stopped playing hockey and got more involved in weightlifting, travelling to Quebec to take part in his first nationals in 2017.
“I’ve always been super competitive,” he said. “To be a competitive athlete you have to be committed. I train three to five times a week, but the community here (at the gym) is great and makes me want to keep coming back.
“My parents were always very supportive. They took me to hockey practice and went to my games, and when I started doing this they were right behind me.”
Olympic weightlifting includes the snatch, in which the athlete lifts the barbell from the floor to above the head in one continuous motion, and the clean and jerk, where the athlete lifts the barbell from the floor to rest on their shoulders, then dips slightly and throws the barbell overhead. McNutt, who competes in the 94-kilogram weight class, was able to lift 115 kilograms in the snatch and 142 in the clean and jerk.
His next big event is the Atlantic Cup, which will take place in March.
