OFA student captures national dead lifting record

Owego Free Academy (OFA) senior, Lindsay Field, captured the New York State and National records in dead lifting at the Empire State Open held at Tioga Downs on Aug. 20.

Family and friends were present and sported specially made fan shirts in support of Lindsay, as were many other spectators from the school and community. Lindsay, who will celebrate her 17th birthday soon, lifted 369 pounds.

Lindsay shared, “I was a little nervous in the beginning, but once I did the first lift, I felt a lot better,” and added, “I’m super-excited about it.”

Looking back to early spring, Lindsay proved her lifting abilities at a non-sanctioned event held at Norwich High School, where she unofficially set the state and national records for her age and weight class.  An opportunity to gauge if she could go further, Lindsay actually lifted 390 pounds at the Norwich event in March.

Lindsay and her mother, Alicia Field, explained that at a sanctioned event such as the Empire State Open, participants get three lifts; however, if you are going for a record, you can ask for a fourth.  Lindsay’s first lift was 336 pounds, followed by 352 and 358 for the second and third lifts, and the final lift was 369 pounds.

Lindsay opted to play it smart at the event and gradually added weight.

“Once you pick a weight, you cannot go back,” Lindsay said.

With state and national records on the line that day, the decision paid off.

“She is capable of lifting more, she proved that in March,” shared Alicia, and added, “She played it smart.  It was a hot day and gradually adding weight made sense.”

Going forward, Lindsay’s short-term goals are to break her own national record and then set a world record for her age group (ages 16-17), and will work toward participating at the 100 percent Raw Powerlifting Federation world event which is scheduled in October.

Owego Apalachin Central School District Superintendent, Corey Green, commented, “It’s remarkable what Lindsay has been able to accomplish in such a relatively short amount of time,” and added, “It was exciting to see such an outpouring of OA district and community support for her at the Tioga Downs competition, and that had to further motivate her toward achieving her new national record. We’re all very excited to see what her next accomplishment will be.”

Added to Lindsay’s recent list of accomplishments is her new role as manager of the OFA football team. With the start of the new school year just over a week away, Lindsay commented, “I’m excited for my senior year at OFA.”

Lindsay encourages others to try power lifting and commented, “I would like to see more people try lifting, especially young people,” and explained that she feels it is easier to start at a younger age.

Another goal may be trying out for a future Olympics, which several people have suggested to her.  Lindsay replied, “It would be exciting to try out for it.”

Until then, Lindsay is staying focused on one goal at a time, and will continue to train at least three days each week.  Lindsay and her family are appreciative of the sponsorships and fan support that they have received thus far.