Elisha Taiwo Ilo
Dylan Grant
SBD Mock Competition, Competition Soon!
Elisha joined Smith Strength & Power in May 2023. His training history had been that of a more Powerbuilding style but he decided that he wanted to get a coach and take Powerlifting seriously as an U74kg lifter.
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When we started his best lifts were:
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- 180kg x 3 Squat
- 140 Touch and Go Bench
- 240kg Hitched Deadlift
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When we started he had a very good base of strength but was rough around the edges in terms of technique and being at competition standard. We worked hard on his technique and drilled in competition technique and brought his strength to another level.
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In late July 2023 in his Mock Competition he hit:
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- 215kg Squat (+35kg)
- 137.5 Paused Bench Press
- 250kg Deadlift (+10kg)
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Achieving a 602.5kg Training total with more in the tank on Squat at U74kg. We were lucky there were qualified referees in the gym at the time to give indications of good or no lifts.
We of course wanted to do this in an actual competition but due to Elisha's GB District area of London being extremely inaccessible for competitions we have been forced to try and enter comps outside his district which is difficult because he gets the lowest priority of entry.
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Now he has joined a PL gym in London we hope this will enable to him to enter a real competition soon to show what he can do which we are both very excited for!
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Greater London Championships 2023
After a long wait we finally got Elisha into his first competition. The greater London Championships in November.
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- 217.5kg Squat
- 127.5kg Bench
- 250kg Deadlift
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4/9, 595kg total, 5th place @ U74kg.
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Despite achieving a crazy total for his first competition @ U74kg overall it wasn't the day we wanted for Elijah. After a tough prep with some nagging injuries and unexpected weight loss from external factors we were still in a place to achieve a PB performance.
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Some technical mistakes came into play but this was a lesson on attempt selection and taking what was there on the day.
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Squat, 2/3 missing 217.5kg on his second but getting it on the third.
Elisha went risky with his bench attempts jumping 7.5kg from 127.5 to 135kg on his second closely missing it both times. We had hit it well enough in training but a safer jump should've been taken which I did advise but he chose different. Again a lesson learned.
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After missing his 240kg Deadlift opener due to early knee lock he still jumped to 250kg on his 2nd and moved it clean. At this point he could have went for a more conservative third for a PB total but Elijah's focus was on placing. Going for a yolo pull he went for 272.5kg to jump for 5th to 3rd and he nearly got it! Only falling short at lockout.
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This is the game of Powerlifting and despite training going very well for long periods after the mock comp hitting numerous PB's it didn't quite pan out on the day. He still gave a great effort and we must remember 6 months prior he was at a 560kg ish gym total and that is great progress.
We know he will be back to put in a really solid performance in 2024.
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Greater London Spring Divisional 2024
It was redemption time for Elisha in this competition. After a tough first competition not showing his capabilities he came into this looking for the win.
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He hit:
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225kg Squat (+7.5kg)
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127.5kg Bench (Matched PB)
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272.5kg (+22.5kg)
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8/9, 625kg (+30kg), 1st Place in the U74kg Class.
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A great competition and a brilliant fight for the win with Elisha needing to pull his final Deadlift for 1st place.
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Only missing his 232.5kg third Squat by losing his balance right at the top and falling back. On bench he has been dealing with a major shoulder issue so we played it easy to match his PB and get on to Deadlifts where we knew he would have a big chance to take the win. He executed the plan perfectly.
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Redemption achieved.
