A pair of local athletes will be vying for a position on the podium during the upcoming Ontario Winter Games, Feb. 3-12 in in Renfrew County.
Garage Gym Weightlifting’s Joshua MacLachlan and Shoshanna Rogan, both 15, will be competing against 18 of the province’s best athletes in the weightlifting portion of the games, which takes place in Barry’s Bay Feb. 10.
McLachlan competes in the 73 kg class while Rogan competes in the 87 kg class.
Both Sarnia weightlifters have an excellent chance of bringing home a medal, said Garage Gym Weightlifting coach Larry Robinson.
“The last qualifier was the Ontario Junior Championships in December, and that’s where Joshua and Shoshanna assured their positions in the Ontario Winter Games,” he said. “Joshua won silver in the 17 and under Youth division and came fourth in the 20 and under Junior division. Shoshanna came second in both the Youth and Junior divisions. The Garage Gym Weightlifting team also won best junior team at the Ontario Youth/Junior championship.
Robinson added: “I think they’ll do really well. I expect Shoshanna to come in at least in second again, she’s definitely going to try and take the gold, she’s been training really well. And Joshua will move up too – he had to compete against some older athletes during the last event and they won’t be there at the games. So I expect him to medal as well.”
Robinson said he is proud that the gym has produced athletes who have reached such a high level of performance.
“We’ve been around for 10 years. We literally started in a garage,” Robinson said, laughing. “That’s where the name comes from. The youngest kid we have is eight and there’s no limit to ages at the gym – we’ve had athletes as old as in their late sixties.”
More information about the 2023 Ontario Winter Games, including results, can be found at https://renfrewcounty2023.ca/. For more information about Garage Gym Weightlifting, visit their Facebook or Instagram pages.