Celestyne D’Almeida completes ‘legacy lift’ at 15

LACONIA — Four days a week, during the muted hours of morning, 15-year-old Celestyne D’Almeida’s alarm rings loudly in her bedroom. By 8 a.m. sharp, D’Almeida is in the Laconia High School weight training gym, working on her powerlifting reps, technique and skills.

Much to her own surprise, the rising sophomore recently tied the world powerlifting record in deadlift for her age and weight category (198+), lifting a whopping 380.7 pounds in front of a crowded LHS gymnasium.

That’s roughly the weight of a large female grizzly bear — and she barely broke a sweat.

“I thought it was going to be a very hard thing to do,” said D’Almeida, taking a break from the weight room to talk with The Laconia Daily Sun. “Once I got on the stage and everyone was cheering, it was not as hard as I thought it would be.”

D’Almeida, with her team and Powerlifting Club Coach Rod Roy cheering her on, competed in the 100% RAW State Championship Full Power Meet last month at LHS, beating two state records and tying a world record.

She lifted a cumulative weight of 873.2 pounds.

“It was pretty good. I honestly wasn’t expecting it. I came in that day ready to do the meet and I was like, ‘If I do it, cool,’” said D’Almeida. “It was pretty cool.”

Roy’s pep talk may have played a part in her motivation to win.

“I said, ‘This is a legacy lift. You’re gonna tie a world record. No one has ever done that, so get it,’ and gave a little smack in the back of the head,” he explained.

It worked.

D’Almeida’s powerlifting training routine, which she “religiously” follows according to Roy, is strict.

Each one of her four weekly workouts is specifically geared toward an important aspect of powerlifting: deadlift, squat, bench press and cardio, for endurance purposes. She goes heavy most of the time, increasing her strength and defining her technique, which Roy is glad to assist with.

“When we’re training for the Power Meet, we pull up state records and post those in the gym as motivation,” he said. “I had 14 lifters there. Of the 14, at least 13 of them set at least one state record.”

For Roy, the entire moment was surreal.

“Once she started pulling off the ground and floor, I was like, ‘Oh my God, she’s gonna get this.’ Usually she struggles from the floor to the knee. Once she started pulling, everyone — the whole audience, spectators and the team — were going crazy,” he said. “I knew she was gonna smash this.”

And yes, while D’Almeida is currently the only female on the team, anyone is welcome.

“For Laconia students, I’m in the building and they all know me,” Roy said, who coaches a plethora of additional teams in the Lakes Region. “If they wanna start powerlifting, just come see me.”

RAW Powerlifting is a federation that doesn’t permit performance-enhancing drugs, and competitors will be asked to submit to random drug screens. Lifters are also not permitted to use assistive equipment, such as shirts that help the wearer lift heavier weights.

As D’Almeida sets her sights on the future — she wants to go to college for powerlifting — she’s ready to smash the next world record.

“Even if people say you can’t do it, just do it. You can do it if you really put your mind to it,” she said.

For more information on upcoming Powerlifting Club events, visit lhssau30.org.