James “Chico” Hernandez of Washburn traveled to Williston, Vermont, on April 12 and competed at the Vermont State Senior Powerlifting Championships held at the Warehouse/Lift-VT Gym.
The 71-year-old took home four gold medals in his division in the squat, bench press and dead lift. He had the highest overall weight total in the entire field.
This is the second state senior powerlifting championship he has won within the last year. Last year he earned the state of Nebraska Senior State Powerlifting championship.
“I am improving as I train without a coach and the other competitors at the meet were complimenting me [that] my technique was spot on,” Hernandez said. “I just picked this sport up last July and won the Nebraska State Senior with a 245-pound squat and last Saturday I did 303 pounds.
“My bench press in Nebraska was 215 pounds, now 245 pounds in Vermont, and my dead lift in Nebraska was 275 pounds. Now I can do 303,” he said.
“I competed with only four hours of sleep and I was very conservative with my lifts and made every one of them,” he said. “I have been training religiously since last July at Aroostook Fitness in Presque Isle and made some pretty good gains, and hard work has paid off.”
Hernandez has now won seven state senior championships in Vermont. Besides his recent four in powerlifting, he has won in shot put, hammer throw and power walking.
He was the Vermont state open freestyle wrestling champion in 1985.
Hernandez is better known for appearance on a box of Wheaties back in 2002. He was an AAU National Hall of Fame inductee in 2012 and Maine Sports Hall of Fame inductee in 2006.
He has won 59 State Senior Games medals in Vermont, Arkansas, Nebraska and Maine.
