A young Welkom powerlifter, Joaquim Geraldes (22), competed in the Arnold Classic World Powerlifting Congress at the South African national championship, where he attained a first place in the junior super heavyweight division.
He set four world records: for squat, bench press, deadlift and total weight lifted. He also received an award for the most memorable male squat during the competition.
Joaquim started working out at the gym in 2021, and took an interest in powerlifting. In November 2022 he started training seriously for his first competition, a qualifier tournament that took place in February 2023. His next competition was the national championship on Sunday (21/05), where he set the world records. This was his first time setting records on competition level.
Joaquim is studying towards a BSc degree in Agricultural Economics and Agronomy at the North-West University (NWU), and is coached and trained by Marnu Wessels from Welkom.
