This year’s Grip Championship was an all-Colorado event. Nisha and Kim lifted in flight 1 and Sanjiv, Jarrod and Joshua lifted in flight 2. Weigh-ins and rules briefings were conducted and the meet was contested using the one official system.
We started with Pinch Grip, Deadlift, One Hand. This is the first time the lift was contested at the Grip Championship and mistakes were made. Flight 1 set the plates up vertical to the platform and had top lifts under 30 pounds. Essentially, they did a Pinch Grip Strict, One Hand. Jarrod correctly pointed out the error and Flight 2 set up the plates horizontal to the platform. Flight 2 all had good lifts at 100 pounds or more. Kim and Nisha declined the option to repeat their lifts. For record purposes, they should be recorded as Pinch Grip Strict, One Hand.
Next was the Deadlift, Fulton Dumbbell, One Hand. This was the fifth time this lift has been contested at the Grip Championship, and some big numbers were put up. The women’s field accounted for Age Class and ALL age records in their weight classes.
Next was another favorite, the Vertical Bar, 1”, One Hand. This was the third time this lift has been contested in the Grip Championship and athletes who competed in Tony & Allison’s Birthday Bash got to test their max lifts recently. At 86 pounds on a fourth attempt for a record, Nisha was the only athlete to set a record in this lift.
The last competition lift was the Deadlift, 3” Bar. Records were set across the board. Everybody was feeling the effects of the first three lifts, but everybody also knew what they needed to hit the overall field. Jarrod narrowly missed his third attempt at 355 pounds, securing Sanjiv’s position atop the men’s field. Joshua followed suit attempting 355 pounds on his third attempt.
The Pinch Grip Clean & Press, One Hand was offered as an exhibition lift. This is an IAWA lift and the IAWA rules were followed.
The lifter will grip the weight, either in front or to the side, as in the one hand pinch lift. The lifter will clean the weight to the shoulder and stand ready for the signal to press. The lifter will be standing erect with the weight held at the side of or just above the deltoid muscle, or even resting on the shoulder muscle (if desired). The stance is as for the start of any pressing movement, foot spacing is optional, but the feet will be parallel to the lifters front. On the referees signal the weight will be pressed out to arm’s length, as in the one hand dumbbell press. On completion the referee signals to replace the bar.
All athletes were able to complete the lift. However, maintaining a plate width spacing on the lighter loads required the use of foam spacers to achieve an outside spacing of 2.25-2.50 inches. The other challenge with lighter lifts was incremental plate loading. We utilized magnetic weight attachments so that athletes could still get a full grip on the plates.
- Nisha – 15, 17.5 pounds
- Kim – 20, 22.5, 24 pounds
- Sanjiv – 25, 28 pounds
- Joshua – 28, 35 pounds
- Jarrod – 25, 28 pounds
The consensus was that it was not a fun lift. As the weights approached maximum efforts, missing a lift resulted in an explosion of weight and collars as the plates came crashing down. The width of the rod was also a concern as the rod was coming dangerously close to the lifter’s ear. When I watched a video of Matt Jones’ 30-kg lift, it appear he used two 10kg plates, a 12-18 inch metal rod and 2.5 kg and 1.25 kg change plates along with collars. Our best lift was 35 pounds (16kg). Joshua attempted 50 pounds (23kg), but the weight slipped and went crashing to the floor.
Complete Results:
USAWA Grip Championship
High Country Vigour
Lakewood, Colorado
April 4, 2026
Meet Director: Sanjiv Gupta
Scorekeeper: Sanjiv Gupta
Officials: (1-official system) Sanjiv Gupta, Jarrod Fobes, Kim Van Wagner, Nisha Gupta
The Lifts: Pinch Grip Deadlift, One Hand; Deadlift, Fulton Dumbbell, One Hand; Vertical Bar, 1 Bar 1”, One Hand, Deadlift, 3” Bar
Bodyweight and Lifts in Pounds
WOMENS DIVISION
Lifter Age BW Strict Pinch Fulton V-Bar 3” Bar Total Points
Kim 58 127.6 27.5 (R) 81 (L) 86 (L) 154 348.5 661.3
Nisha 17 87.3 22.5 (R) 61 (R) 76 (R) 88 247.5 610.7
MENS DIVISION
Lifter Age BW Pinch Fulton V-Bar 3” Bar Total Points
Sanjiv 54 208.5 120 (L) 126 (L) 156 (L) 315 717 719.2
Jarrod 48 206.5 100 (R) 141 (L) 161 (R) 305 707 675.8
Joshua 41 257.1 120 (R) 136 (R) 161 (R) 305 722 575.7
Pinch Grip Clean & Press, One Hand [Exhibition]
Lifter Age BW OH Pinch C&P Lynch
Kim 58 127.6 24 (R) 45.5
Nisha 17 87.3 17.5 (R) 43.1
Sanjiv 54 208.5 28 (R) 28.1
Joshua 41 257.1 35 (R) 27.9
Jarrod 48 206.5 28 (R) 26.7
4th Attempts for Records
Kim Van Wagner
Pinch Grip Strict, One Arm, Right – 30 pounds
Vertical Bar, 1”, 1 Bar, One Arm, Left – 91 pounds
Deadlift, 3″ Bar – 164 pounds
Nisha Gupta
Vertical Bar, 1”, 1 Bar, One Arm, Right – 86 pounds
To determine the overall winner, the meet director decided to take the Age-Weight-Gender Lynch Totals of the three lifts performed to the same rule set:
- Kim Van Wagner – 321 total pounds – 609 Lynch points
- Sanjiv Gupta – 597 total pounds – 599 Lynch points
- Jarrod Fobes – 607 total pounds – 580 Lynch points
- Nisha Gupta – 225 total pounds – 555 Lynch points
- Josh Guerin – 602 total pounds – 480 Lynch points
RECORD SESSION:
Sanjiv Gupta – 54 yrs – BW 208.5 lb / 95 kg class
Apollon’s Lift – 125 pounds
Curl, Cheat, Dumbbell, Left – 62 pounds
Curl Cheat, Reverse Grip – 115 pounds
Joshua Guerin – 41 yrs – BW 257.1 lb / 120 kg class
Dumbbell to Shoulder – 132 pounds
Bavarian Deadlift – 469 pounds
While the competition was a live only event, inquiries from remote athletes allowed for record session lifts.
Jeff Wenzel – 51 yrs – BW 228 lb / 105 kg class
Piper Squat – 320 pounds
James Lift – 125 pounds
Pinch Grip Strict (L) – 67 pounds
Pinch Grip Strict (R) – 87 pounds
Pinch Grip Strict 2 H – 167 pounds
John Carter – 67 yrs – BW 200 lb / 95 kg class
Deadlift Fulton One Arm (L) – 160 pounds
Deadlift Fulton One Arm (R) – 170 pounds
Deadlift Fulton Dumbbell (L) – 150 pounds
Deadlift Fulton Dumbbell (R) – 170 pounds
Deadlift Finger Middle – 205 pounds
Tony Hose – 57 yrs – BW 215 lb / 100 kg class
Vertical Bar 1” One Hand (L) – 222 pounds
Vertical Bar 1” One Hand (R) – 182 pounds
Vertical Bar 1” 2 Hands – 285 pounds
Deadlift Fulton Dumbbell (L) – 170 pounds
Deadlift Fulton Dumbbell (R) – 170 pounds
Travis Luther – 33 yrs – BW 177 lb / 85 kg class
Vertical Bar 1” One Hand (L) – 232 pounds
Back Extension – 225 pounds
Tony Lupo – 60 yrs – BW 242 lb / 110 kg class
Pinch Grip Strict (R) – 51 pounds
Vertical Bar 1” One Hand (R) – 142 pounds
Deadlift Fulton Dumbbell (R) – 140 pounds
Deadlift 3 Inch Bar – 300 pounds
James Lift – 28 pounds
Clark’s Gym Officials – Bill Clark, Jeff Wenzel, John Carter, Tony Lupo
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