CLIFF Haynes helped England to victory at the Four Nations Championships, in Brentwood.
And the 53-year-old – who had been considering quitting international powerlifting – says the outcome was just the spur he needed to continue.
He now has “renewed motivation” and is setting his sights on further glory at the World Powerlifting Championships in Glasgow in November.
“I was very happy with my performance,” said Clacton's Haynes, whose efforts in the benchpress shattered European records.
“I was in need of motivation and so, after winning the national open title this year, put my name forward for selection.
“Then I received the invitation to compete, from team manager Paul Rees.
“I didn’t have much time to prepare as I’ve been taking it easy for six weeks.
“I haven’t been practicing my deadlift, either, so didn’t expect much.
“But I ended with a good performance, which helped us take the team title.
“At 53, I didn’t know if I wanted to continue powerlifting at international level, but the welcome I got was fantastic.”
Haynes, who was competing in the 75kg weight category for England A, tackled the squat first and managed lifts of 170kg and 185kg.
He just missed out on 200kg.
In the bench, he successfully lifted weights of 140kg, 147.5kg and 150kg.
He set a European record on the first lift and then, amazingly, beat it twice.
He then lifted 220kg and 230kg in the deadlift, but could not manage 240kg. Haynes’ overall points tally was 380.2450.
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