Comment
Print
Kenneth Rice of Rutherfordton has reached another milestone in powerlifting after competing with Strong Hand Fitness, Hendersonville, sponsors of the event. As a powerlifter with the United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) Rice was ranked #1 in the world for weight lifting in his category. He said the meet was run with spotters everywhere to keep everyone safe.
"The judges were great, tough, but fair and helpful with advice", Rice said.
Rice's best bench at 385 earned a national record. The old record was 303.
"My best deadlift of the day at 540, a national record beating my old record of 468. My best squat of the day at 534 was for a national record. I competed in the raw 308+ weight class 65 to 69 age group."
"To everyone who helped me get ranked #1 in the world, thank you, thank you very much," Rice said. He began the road to this win over four years ago.
"Lifting was something I always enjoyed, but I had things health wise, I was forced to take care of. After a couple of surgeries, Rice describes as nothing huge, he is able to control issues with medication and better choices.
"Lifting gave me something to focus on. This is truly a hobby anyone can do. It will improve your performance in any of the sports. Plus improve your quality of life as you age," he said.
At last year's 2023 USPA Blue Ridge Classic at Strong Hand Fitness, Rice received his first powerlifting awards and recognition. Chris Morgan has been Kenny's workout partner for the past 10 years.
"He has put in a lot of time as my trainer. He went to the contest (in 2023) and handled everything so I could just lift," Kenny said.
Kenny is a lifelong Rutherford County man and graduated in 1977 from Chase High School.
Married to Shirley Rice, the couple has a daughter Beth Head and granddaughter, Rhianna Head.
For anyone interested in weightlifting, Kenny advises, "Do it safe. I have never gotten hurt. When training others, safety is first," Kenny said.
He said during an interview last year, before he begins a lift, he looks up and says a prayer for safety during the lift. "And if I win, well that's good too."
