Final session, day 3 and the crowd was at its peak. In one class we had 4 time Natl Champ and defending World Champ Brad Gillingham, 1999 Bronze medalist at 275 Tony Leiato, and last years natl. runner up and 5th at the Worlds Sean Culnan. In 7th was Wade Hanna with 1868. 6th was Bruce Lee with 1912. 5th was Master lifter Dan Gaudreau who set 2 world master records in the Bench at 567 and 578. Dan finished with 1989. 4th was Van Hatfield with 2028. Now the big 3. Sean Culnan took the early lead with a 804 2nd attempt sq. Tony was in 2nd with 788 and two close misses at 832. Brad also hit 788 and was turned down 2 to 1 on depth at 810 and 821. At subtotal Brad moved ahead with a 600 2nd and a miss at 617. Tony was in 2nd after a 578 opener and a narrow miss at 606 on his and a miss at 628 on the 3rd. Sean was tied for 2nd at subtotal after a nice 3 for 3 day with 562. Tony had more trouble in the pull and had to take 2 tries to get 711 in and was unable to manage anymore. For Leiato it was an uncharacteristic 3 for 9 performance and a 2077 day and 3rd place. You have to figure with another year to get used to the added weight that 2200+ is very realistic for next year in Chicago. In 2nd was Sean Culnan who opened at 755, passed his 2nd and gave 793 a run on his 3rd. Sean finished with a 2121. Finally the "MAN" in our sport for the last 4 years was the MAN and then some once again. Brad opened easily at 793, took a modest 2nd at 815 and then blew the doors off the Omaha Doubletree with a 3rd attempt EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY EIGHT LB deadlift. The crowd sensing the moment rose to its loudest pitch as Brad began the pull in his patented over hand style. The drive off the floor was steady but just as the bar hit his knees and the crowd hit its peak, Brad kicked on the after burners and drove through the lockout, even holding the bar at the top for a few seconds while making sure everyone in the state of Nebraska knew he owned that weight.

   Let's put this in perspective for a moment. 5 straight National titles and trips to the IPF worlds at SHW. Do you know how many times that has been done before......The answer is NEVER. The record Brad broke was 4 straight by the legendary Don Reinhoudt. The names of supers who have never accomplished this reads like a hall of fame of powerlifting. Reinhoudt, Kazmeier, Paul Wrenn, Doyle Kenady, Mike Hall, O.D. Wilson...folks that is select company. How about this...Brad's misses would have given him a 2292. Enough to win 27 out of the 30 World Championships EVER. We are in the midst of a power legend in his prime. If you have never seen Brad lift, make a trip to Chicago next July. If you have seen him lift, go next year anyway because he is flat out just getting better each meet. All in all it was a great championship, I have to wrap up now and go eat. All 11 class winners with the exception of the 123's will be automatic World Team selections once the drug tests are completed. 3 lifters who didn't win Mike Mastrean, Pat McGettigan and Sean Culnan also hit the qualifying total and will be ranked as alternates for the trip to Finland. Thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it.