Dunshaughlin powerlifter is pressing to be Europe's best

Dunshaughlin native Jack Ryan is looking forward to representing his country at the Western European Powerlifting Championships in Finland taking place on 12th September.

Shortly after winning the Belfast Open event in May this year Jack was selected to be on the Irish national team for the competition.

This has been a goal of the 27 year old ever since he started competing in 2021 and he even told his partner when they first started seeing each other that his main goal was to win that Irish singlet and “I’ll do whatever I can to get it”.

“So, when I got that email saying I was selected for the Westerns it was like a big milestone ticked off for me.”

One of his biggest achievements before this, alongside his performance early on at the under 74kg Open Nationals, was his third place at the under 83kg Open Nationals in November last year. He earned a podium placement despite the fact he had lower back pain after his opening deadlift “and we just kept pushing it to see how far we could take it. Unfortunately, the guy that beat me was just stronger on the day and my back gave way.”

This early injury didn’t stop him from squatting 245kg, benching 167.5kg, and deadlifting 265kg, making him eligible for the Western European Championships. Later on, his win at the Belfast Open last May qualified him for the Championship where he will compete in the 83kg section.

He is both “excited and nervous” in the run up to the competition with only a short amount of time left to prepare.

“I have multiple family and friends flying over to watch me so that’s a big motivator to do my best at it.”

It is also not the only competition he has to focus on because he also has the Open National in November “so I have to learn to push myself but still leave enough in the tank so I can hop into another prep and then hopefully be selected for Westerns again next year.”

“This one is just to show up, get the international cap, make my ‘debut’ and then build on that. I don’t put any pressure on this competition.

“I don’t need to prove anything to anyone by placing in a certain position.”

He said this is a huge achievement but “it’s also a great motivator because I want to be better. I don’t want to just get selected for Westerns, I want to be the best in Ireland.”

He says this is going to be pretty difficult because “unfortunately I am in a weight class where there are two amazing guys that I’m competing against that, at the moment, are far and away above what I’m currently at. But again, that’s my motivation to close the gap year on year which I have been doing and hopefully, eventually, I’ll catch up and be number one.”