Tag Archives: Steve Gardner

My Friend Andy Goddard

by Steve Gardner

Steve Gardner lifting Andy Goddard overhead at the 2003 IAWA World Championships in Perth, Australia.

I have been asked to write a bit about the late Andy Goddard, as time moves on and newer members join, not everyone knows who he was and why we have a postal match named after him …….

I first met Andy 20 years ago when he wandered into my gym to watch an all round competition that was taking place.  He lived locally and told me he had been in the Army for a number of years, where he was an Army light flyweight boxing champion.  Andy was struck down with a stomach cancer and had an emergency operation, he nearly died, but he pulled through and was invalided out of the Armed Forces. This had all taken place a few years before he came to see me, and he told me he had been given the all clear from Cancer re occurring and thought he would like to start and do some training to see if he could lift with us.

I was delighted to help him and we cautiously worked together, but in no time it was obvious he was a strong little critter, and he took to weightlifting like a duck to water.  Andy started to compete and he thrived on competition. Not only did Andy become a great champion, several times IAWA British Champion in the Open and many time World Champion in the Masters, he was a thoroughly nice man. He was a great friend to everyone, and always had a good word to say.  Andy always helped to encourage new lifters in the sport and was the kind of guy who would do anything for anyone at the drop of a hat.

Andy’s favourite lifts were the Deadlift, Hacklift, Straddle and Trap Bar Deadlift, all of which he performed with more than 3 times bodyweight!  Andy became a great friend of mine and my family too, he was like family to us. Andy was always there to help me every time we had a competition he would be helping me set up and move the weights, or collecting foreign lifters from the airport and helping me put them up. Andy was a quiet man, he wasn’t married but spent a lot of time treating and looking after others.  It was the proudest moment for me to make the presentation to my friend when he was inducted into the IAWA(UK) Hall of Fame in 2007, this was a fitting reward for a true champion and holder of many, many records who had travelled the World and taken part in as many IAWA events as he could, a true all round weightlifter and supporter.

In 2008, Andy started to have some internal pain problems in his groin, though he insisted it did not stop him lifting, it continued to niggle at him and eventually the pains spread to his chest and back. Andy lifted in the World Championships in 2008 and was magnificent, but we knew all was not right. After countless visits to the Hospital they said they were not sure why he had the pain? We all worried in case there was something deeper, and in the end sure enough, eventually a scan showed a shadow near his spine. Andy went in and had some painful surgery on his back, the cancer was in his spine, it had returned after 20 years. Whilst operating they discovered that the cancer had spread to his organs and there was nothing anyone could do. They gave him six months, and that would have taken Andy up to his 50th birthday…he didnt make it, passing away just a few weeks before. It was so sad to see this wonderful light go out, we visited him and talked to him to the end, and were with him on his last day.

I had commented one time on Andys ‘Northern Ireland’ Campaign medal he had been awarded in the Army, having seen two tours of service over there in the early and mid 70’s, when he showed it to me I told him he should be justly proud of his achievements in such dangerous and difficult times. I was very moved when, after the funeral, his girlfriend said Andy had asked her to give the medal to me. I treasure it to this day.

We all miss Andy, and his belt and lifting boots remain at the gym so he is always with us. Andy loved competition, and the postal bearing his name is a fitting tribute to him.

Steve Gardner, IAWA President

by Al Myers

Steve Gardner in action as a Powerlifter taking a big squat down deep!

Most lifters involved with the USAWA know that Steve Gardner is our IAWA president.  Steve is closing in on the end of his third four year term as the IAWA President. This is a total of 12 YEARS that he has committed to leading our organization!  The IAWA (International All-Round Weightlifting Association) is the world umbrella organization of all-round weightlifting in which the USAWA is affiliated with.   There are four major countries that are involved with the IAWA (United States, England, Scotland and Australia).  Lifters from other countries (New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, and a few others) have competed in IAWA International events, but these countries do not have organized associations which oversee the all-round events within them.  Steve’s Presidency followed that of Howard Prechtel.  Howard also served the organization for 12 years.

Steve lifting a van during his days as a Police Officer.

Steve lives in Burton on Trent, England.  He began living there when he was stationed there as a Police Officer out of the police academy.  It was then that Steve realized that he had ability lifting weights.  Steve started out as a competive powerlifter.  In the early 80’s Steve won the British Title and represented Great Britain three years in a row at the European and World Championships with the WDFPF. He was the heavyweight Champion in 1990, winning the Championship in Belgium. Steve also won a Bronze Medal at the World Championships in Chicago in 1989 and a Silver Medal in France in 1991.  He has held several European Powerlifting Records with the WDFPF (World Drug Free Powerlifting Federation).

Steve getting ready to flip a big caber in a Highland Games.

Steve has also been involved in Strongman and the Highland Games.  Most don’t know this about him, but I got this story out of him recently.  In the early 80’s he competed with Geoff Capes and the International Touring team all over Great Britain, competing in Strongman and the Highland Games. At one competition he placed 4th in the World Lorry Pulling Championships and BEAT the then World’s Strongest Man Jon Pall Sigmarson!!!! Now that’s a good story.

Around 1985, Steve became involved with the All Rounds.  This was before the IAWA was even organized.  Steve was involved in the first IAWA events, and has competed in MANY international competitions.  The following is a small list of his accomplishments within the IAWA.  It would take pages and pages to list everything Steve has done in and for the IAWA!!!

  • IAWA World Heavyweight Champion 17 times (won multiple World titles in the United States, England, Scotland, and Australia)
  • Hosted the IAWA World Championships 3 times (2008, 2004, 1994) in Burton on Trent
  • Hosted the IAWA Gold Cup World Record Breaker 4 times (2011, 2000, 1997, 1993) in Burton on Trent
  • Promoted the IAWA World Postal Meet multiple times
  • Instigated and developed the drug testing program within the IAWA, which insures that our sport offers drug-free competition
  • Holder of multiple IAWA World Records (to many to count), and holder of the ALL TIME best Steinborn Lift at 200 kilograms
  • Served on the IAWA Technical Committee and has been the person responsible for updating and maintaining the IAWA Rulebook
  • Served as meet announcer and recorder numerous times at World Championships and Gold Cups

Steve also has a very active All-Round Weightlifting Club.  He runs the Powerhouse Gym in Burton, and has since 1985.  He has coached numerous lifters – powerlifters, Olympic lifters, and All-Rounders. Several of his lifters have went on to win National and World Titles.  His gym has also been the host venue of several IAWA competitions.  The 2011 IAWA Gold Cup was held in the Powerhouse Gym.

Steve competing in the Lorry Pulling Event in a Strongman Competition.

Steve has also been very involved in Tug of War. He began in 1975 as a member of the Holland Tug of War Club in Barton under Needwood.  Reporting on Steves accomplishments with Tug of War is another story in itself!!!  Steve is very involved in the Holland Sports Club.  He has been a member for over 20 years and has been in the office as Chairman for the last 6 years. He was made an honorary life member in the Holland Sports Club  in 2010 in recognition of the work he has done for the club. He is also a member of the East Staffs and District Sports Council, which awards sports grants and recognizes outstanding sports achievements.  Steve has served on the Barton Parish Council for 8 years.  He has held office as Vice Chairman for 2 years and then Chairman of the Council for another 2 years.

I have spent a lot of time in the last few years visiting with Steve.  Steve contains a WEALTH of information about many topics.  Last fall when I was in Burton for the Gold Cup Steve gave me a car tour of the town and surrounding area.  I felt like I was getting a history lesson on local history from a professional tour guide! As it turns out, Steve finally told me that he has written three books that were published about the history of Barton under Needwood. So he is, in a  sense, a professional tour guide!!

Steve and the club members of the Powerhouse Gym.

We are VERY fortunate as an organization to have Steve as our President.  We owe him alot of thanks for everything he has done to better our organization.  Very few people would “give” to an organization as much as Steve has done with IAWA.  He made the trip to Australia to help coordinate and announce the competition – just because he wanted to help make the World Championhships a great event.  I should mention that he didn’t even lift.  Not many would do that.  The IAWA has maintained WORLD-WIDE involvement because of Steve’s leadership and guidance. I feel I speak on behalf of the entire organization when I say this – we greatly apprecate the work Steve has done to make the IAWA a better organization.

All Round Lifting: The Big Brother Version

by Al Myers

Last month at the IAWA World Championships in Perth, Australia, several of us rented a beach house together.  I organized this beach house rental for a couple of reasons – to save a little money and also to spend some time with a few of the masterminds in the organization.  Six of us spent close to 10 days living together – myself, Chad Ullom, USAWA President Denny Habecker, IAWA President Steve Gardner, English All Round lifting sensation Mark Haydock, and the MAN OF STEEL and all-round lifting legend Art Montini.  This gave me the perfect opportunity to “pick their minds” and hopefully “steal” some secret lifting information from them.  I liken myself to that of Robin Hood – but instead of stealing moneyI like to steal ideas from the rich and give to everyone else (ok – I won’t call you poor!).  But I was also worried that this living arrangement would turn into an episode of BIG BROTHER in which we would be at “each other’s throats” by the end of the stay!   I envisioned the alliances – the Americans versus the Brits (of which I knew ahead of time we would have the numbers on this one), the Wily Veterans (Denny, Steve, & Art) versus the Newbies (Chad, Mark, & myself), or the Drinkers versus the Nondrinkers (which would be pretty much everyone versus Art!!). Who would be the first one voted out of the house?   Luckily, no “drama” ever developed throughout the week so I can’t report on any fights or anything like that.

But I did learn alot.  Like I said, I spent every moment trying to steal some important secret from my roommates.  And like Robin Hood, I plan to share with you  everything I learned from these guys.  I consider these guys the “movers and shakers” of All Round Lifting.  Steve is closing in on 12 years as IAWA President and many, many years as the IAWA(UK) President.  He has been involved in the sport for over 20 years.  Denny is our USAWA President and filled with secrets – it’s just that he doesn’t always talk alot about things and I have to “pry” information out of him.  Mark was the 2009 IAWA World Champ and I knew for sure he knew something that would be to my benefit in my training.  Art is the “most seasoned” of all these guys and for sure he had something “to give up”.  Now with Chad, well let’s just say, I’ve already stole all of his secrets, which isn’t much. I planned to strategically just use him for distraction purposes to give me “a little one on one” time with my targets.

Steve feels "right at home" in a brewery or a pub. And YES - Steve has a drink in each hand, drinking both at the same time.

When you live with “your competitors” for a week you really learn something about them.  My primary focus of this investigation was with Steve.  He is a born leader, takes charge in everything he does, and I was hoping to find the secret of his sucess or perhaps a weakness in his personality.  Well, I only found a couple, and they were weaknesses. Just say I was dissappointed!   First, he snores like a sailor blowing a fog horn. It didn’t take the rest of us long to realize that his sleeping arrangement needed to be a FAR DISTANCE from the rest of us.  We put him in a room on the other side of the house which  only was close to Denny’s room, and that was on purpose as well, because Denny was suffering from some bad case of bronchitis and was coughing non stop.  He sounded like a dog with kennel cough.  I often had to get up in the middle of the night (if you must know it was to pee) and the bathroom was close to their rooms.  I listened for several minutes to these two “barking in the night” and I swear they were in unison with their nightly sounds.  I think Denny was doing the harmonizing.

The only other weakness I found with Steve was his passion for beer.  Now I’m not saying he is a drunk, he just enjoys his barley beverage.  Chad and I even set up “a trap” for him to see if he would drink anything.  We bought this really nasty beer that we wouldn’t even drink, and left it in the fridge.  Sure enough, Steve finished off  the six-pack while the rest of us watched in amazement.  He even said he LIKED IT!  He’s a passionate beer connoisseur.

I caught Mark reading his secret training book during the meet!

Another of my “targets” was Mark Haydock.  After watching him smash a couple of Chad’s World Records at the Gold Cup, I knew he must have some lifting secrets.  It took me all week but I finally found out the reason for Mark’s lifting success.   I caught him reading Steve Justa’s book ROCK IRON STEEL.  I knew immediately that had to be his secret training program – why else would he have carted that book the entire way from England to Australia???   A couple of times I “took a peak” at this secret book of his when he wasn’t looking.  Chad even snuck the book of to the private room a few times to read it.  I bet Mark was rereading that book for meet motivation!!  I got to get that book now so I will know Mark’s secret training programs.  But I will say this about Mark, I had the feeling that he was studying me as well.  He kept asking me questions that I was uncomfortable in answering.  I felt like he was trying to steal MY SECRETS!  He also bought this porridge that he was letting on as the “secret of his strength”.  I had it one day for breakfast and it about made me puke.  I think he was setting me up like I did Steve on the beer.  But Chad had the porridge EVERY DAY convinced it would make him stronger.  Everyone needs to have a gullible friend like Chad.

Like I said, Denny is a “tough nut to crack”.  He often just “sits back” and laughs along with everyone else’s jokes, and never really contributes any jokes of his own.   But I also found Denny’s secret to his strength during this week.  Even though he may limp around and look like he needs help getting out of a chair, Denny is INDEED a very conditioned athlete!   The gimpy persona is just a hoax.  He acts this way just so his competition doesn’t take him too serious.  I marveled at how he worked this to perfection at the meet against his arch rival, Frank Allen.  Now, how do I know this?  Well, after the meet Chad and I had planned to take a day trip to Rottnest Island, a small island off the coast of Perth.  We planned to spend the day bicycling around the island, a distance of over 30 miles and up and down many hills.  Denny asked to join us, and at first I was thinking this might be an issue.  I was initially worried that he wouldn’t be able to “keep up” with Chad and me and we would need to call in the rescue unit.  But after the day’s big bike ride, in which was as easy for Denny as a “walk in the park”, I knew he was just faking us out all the times in the past when he would  wobble around like a rookie on rollerskates.   On the ferry ride back to Perth, I asked him how he was in such great shape and he told me that he used to ride his bike 100 miles a day!!!  What???  I’m still “tossing that around” in my mind.  Just visualizing Denny in my mind biking 100 miles makes my heart go into palpatations.  It was at that point that I decided I wasn’t going to admit to Chad and Denny that a couple of times I had to get off my bike and walk it up a couple of big hills.

With Art, I already knew his secret of his strength, and it just doesn’t work for me.  I discovered it a couple of years ago when I stayed at his house for a meet in Ambridge.   It involves getting up really, really early to train (3-4 AM) and then eating donuts afterwards.  I’m going to save that secret for later in my life and then “pull it out of the bag” when I need it.   But I will say this about Art, he acts MUCH YOUNGER than his biological age and there must be something to that as well in his secret to success on the platform.  I should also mention Art’s special spaghetti, which must have something to do with his lifting longevity.  I have had it before and he made it for us in Perth.  Art makes some of the BEST spaghetti I have ever tasted.

When it comes to icecream, Chad is the expert. He will sample taste every flavor before making his choice!

Who did I forget?  Oh Chad.  Well like I said earlier, Chad has no secrets when it comes to training.  But I do know his main weakness – ICECREAM!  We had to make several stops during the week for icecream and if he keeps this up I will not have to worry about him because he will be out of my weight class and get KILLED on the Lynch Formula!  There are other things about Chad – but they are blood oath stories so I won’t tell.

I will say that week in Australia was one of the most fun weeks of my life!!

Steve Sherwood – the new WORLD CHAMP

by Al Myers

Steve Sherwood (left) receiving the OVERALL BEST LIFTER AWARD from meet director Peter Phillips (right). IAWA President Steve Gardner is in the center.

Last month at the IAWA World Championships in Perth, Australia a new World Champ was crowned.  The new champion, Steve Sherwood, is very deserving of this title.  Steve is an amazing lifter, and he sure doesn’t look his age.  He is listed at 60 years of age, but physically he doesn’t look a day over 35!  Steve hails from Hull, England and has been lifting his entire life.  Recently at the 2011 Gold Cup held in Burton, England Steve was inducted into the IAWA(UK) Hall of Fame.  I was honored to be able to be in attendance at this event.  Steve has a great all round lifting resume – but surprisingly this is his FIRST TIME being crowned the Best Overall Lifter at the World Championships.  He was third overall in 2010 in Glasgow, and third overall at the 1994 Championships in Burton.  Before that, he was second overall in the 1993 World Championships in Walpole, MA and 5th overall at the World’s in Twickenham, England.  You will notice that there has been a “break in the action” for Steve of several years of World Competition, but he has returned to the platform with the same success as when he left.   He has been close so many times to winning the overall, so I congratulate him on finally achieving this highest yearly honor in the IAWA.  The way he lifted in Australia I predict it won’t be the last of overall victories for him.  I really thought at the time that  his margin of victory (872 pts to my 793 pts for second place) might be the largest of All-Time in the IAWA World Championships, but after doing some research on this, I see that it is the THIRD largest margin of victory.  In 2008, Rick Meldon won by a margin of 85 points, and in 1995 Bob Hirsh won by a margin of 122 points.

On top of all Steve’s success as a lifter, he is one of the most modest guys I have ever met and a true sportsman. He is the perfect example of what a CHAMPION should be like. Congratulations Steve!

My take on the Gold Cup

by Al Myers

A highlight at the Gold Cup for me was performing two 2-person lifts with my daughter Emily. On our first lift we did a 757# Straddle Deadlift, and on our second lift we did a 804# Deadlift. Both of these marks are ALL-TIME RECORDS in IAWA for a male-female team.

This is not intended to be a meet report, but rather “my take” on the 2011 IAWA Gold Cup held last weekend in Burton on Trent, England.  First of all, initially I was not planning on attending this meet since I’m going to the IAWA World Championships in Australia next month.  But when my good “mate” (that’s american for friend, haha) James Gardner invited me to stay at his place I could not turn him down. And after the fun-filled weekend I had, I’m glad I went! I made a quick trip out of it, only staying for the weekend.  I call a trip like this “pulling an Art” – after the the MAN OF STEEL  Art Montini and his reputation of going oversees to a big meet and only staying for the meet itself.  This weekend was EXTRA SPECIAL for me since I had my oldest daughter Emily traveling with me.  This was her first weightlifting meet EVER, and she only agreed to compete because that was the stipulation I had for taking her along!  

The person who made this event happen was our IAWA President Steve Gardner (in middle). To Steve's right is Chris Bass, who is the "official scorekeeper" for the IAWA.

Now for a  few general words on the Gold Cup.  This meet is one of TWO big IAWA competitions held each year (the World Championships is the other).  It was started years ago by Howard Prechtel as a meet to celebrate World Record Lifts by World Champions.  Initially, the only lifters who were eligible to compete were current World Champions.  A rule from the beginning in the Gold Cup is that the lifter must OPEN on his first attempt at a World Record in the lift of his choosing.  Also in the beginning each lifter could chose only one lift to perform their World Record in. You could call it the “ELITE OF RECORD DAYS” .  Since then the stipulations have been lessened and anyone can compete in the Gold Cup, regardless of whether they are a current World Champion or not.  If a lifter can not find a World Record they can break, they can enter the Silver Cup instead, and go for a National Record, or even just a personal best.  This way no one is excluded from this prestigious international event.  Also, at several Gold Cups of recent, time has allowed the lifters to have a second choice lift which they can perform as well.

I finally got to meet Steve Angell from England (right). Steve is a three time Overall Best Lifter at the IAWA World Championships (1996, 2000, 2001).

I felt the turnout for this meet was very good – 25 lifters took part.  Our IAWA President Steve Gardner was the meet promoter, and as he always does, promoted an exceptional meet.  I was glad the meet was held at his club in Burton, the Powerhouse Gym.  I like to experience the feeling of lifting in other all round clubs.  You feel “connected” to their involvement in All-Round Weightlifting.   Several outstanding records where set by the lifters in attendance. One of the neat things about a Gold Cup is that you get to see lifters perform the lifts that they are the best at, and in turn get to witness some great lifts.  The Gold Cup is not like any ole record day where the lifters go about their business lifting and doing records in a chaotic fashion.  One platform is set up and when it is YOUR time to lift you get it all to yourself while everyone else watches.  You perform all three (or four) of your attempts back to back, and the stage is all yours.  This allows one to watch EVERY LIFTER and gives each lifter a little extra recognition.  Like I said earlier, the Gold Cup is the ELITE OF RECORD DAYS.  The experience is WAY MORE than just setting a World Record, as it is about being part of something special offered by the IAWA.  I highly recommend that every All Round lifter go to the Gold Cup at least once in their life.  

James Gardner and his 96.5 KG One Handed Fulton Bar Deadlift. This is the most EVER lifted in this lift!

Now on to the lifts done.  I have done a lot of thinking what I would consider the BEST RECORDS of the day were.  This was a hard decision for me because I was very impressed with EVERY lifter, but I did come up with my TOP FIVE.   My vote for the NUMBER ONE GOLD CUP RECORD  was done by James Gardner.  James first lift was the newly formed IAWA lift, the Turkish Get Up.  In this he did the MOST ever done with a very fine lift of 70 KG.  But that’s not the lift that impressed me the most.  It was his second choice lift, the One Hand Fulton Bar Deadlift.  In this lift he lifted an UNBELIEVEABLE 96.5 KG (212 pounds).  This record is now the most EVER lifted in this lift, exceeding Frank Ciavattone’s mark of 210 pounds.  I consider Frank the BEST ONE HAND GRIP LIFTER in the history of the USAWA, so this really says something about James’ achievement in this lift.  Another lifter and lift that really impressed me, and was my second pick,  was Mark Haydock of England. Mark performed a 210 KG Front Squat breaking the previous World Record in this lift held by the current IAWA World Champion Chad Ullom.  I officiated Chad when he set his mark, and I remember how deep he took his front squat when he did it.  I was glad to see Mark break Chad’s record by taking his front squat just as deep.   My “third choice” in best records goes to England’s Steve Sherwood and his Ciavattone Grip Deadlift of 180 KG.  That is pushing 400 pounds for a lifter who is 60 years old and only weighs 80 KG!  What a grip!!   Later that night at the Gold Cup banquet Steve was inducted into the IAWA(UK) Hall of Fame, and it is no wonder why.  He lifts poundages that I would not expect him to lift.  He second choice lift of a 140 KG Fulton Bar Ciavattone Grip Deadlift was impressive as well.   Number 4 on my list goes to John Gardner and his 140 KG (309#) middle fingers straddle deadlift.   I would call John the “sleeper” in this group of great lifters because I didn’t expect a lift like that out of him.  That is a WORLD CLASS finger lift and on top of that, it appeared to me to be a submaximal effort on his part.  He made it look way to easy!  The last of my top five goes to the Scottish lifter Andy Tomlin and his 185.5 KG left handed deadlift.  Breaking 400 pounds in the one handed deadlift is always very impressive to watch, and currently there are only a small group of IAWA lifters who can do it.  To make Andy’s lift even that more impressive, is that he suffered a back injury a week earlier and wasn’t sure he would even be able to compete!   I will tell you this, later that night at the banquet when he was feeling really good (after a few pints of instant pain relief) he was really talking big – and issued a 2-man one arm deadlift challenge against Chad and myself at next year’s Gold Cup in Scotland.   He recruited Steve Angell to be his partner before even asking him, and of course I couldn’t turn him down even before asking Chad to be my partner.  Before long another “team” joined in this challenge as well (Mark Haydock and James Gardner).  So it looks like the 2012 Gold Cup is setting up to be a BIG SHOW of international competition in the 2-man one arm deadlift.  I did remind Andy that Chad and I have the BEST MARK ever set in this lift (done last year at the 2010 Gold Cup) of 800 pounds, so they better be in form “to bring it”.

Mark Haydock performing his record Front Squat of 210 KG.

I could go “on and on” about last weekends trip but I’m going to stop at this.  I especially want to thank Steve Gardner for his efforts in promoting this outstanding  meet.  It was a meet I will never forget.

1 2 3 4 5