ATHABASCA — This town carries a history of strength; the flow of the river from which the region derives its name is a force of nature, and a tight-knit sense of community nourishes new and old roots of the familial and friendship varieties.
This town is also home to one of the country’s strongest power couples: recent world champion powerlifter Maria (Mimi) Frank and national bench press powerlifting coach Jacen Bellingham.
Frank, 40 years old and originally hailing from the Edmonton area, has called Athabasca home for the last eight years. She came to the region to work for the university in 2016, and it was here she met partner Bellingham.
But before her move to Athabasca, Frank made a home among the iron and steel of the weight room. In 2012, she tried her hand at a different facet of the fitness world, before finding her preferred niche in the gym.
“I had tried a bikini competition, like the bikini division of bodybuilding,” said Frank in a July 10 interview. “But I pretty quickly learned that wasn’t for me, just the show aspect of it and being judged on the way I looked, that didn’t really fit with me.
“But I did enjoy the lifting weights part of it, and I had heard about powerlifting,” added Frank. “It had me curious, and I found a trainer in Edmonton … and it sort of snowballed from there.”
Now, as Frank approaches her 10th year in the sport, she holds two silver medals from the World Bench Press Championships in 2021 and 2023, and has competed on the international stage in Tokyo, Lithuania, and Sun City, South Africa.
And most recently, she secured two World Champion titles in both classic and equipped bench press at the 2024 World Bench Press Championships held in Austin, Texas, held from May 22 to June 1.
“It was a special Worlds,” said Frank. “It was my first year as a masters, and since it was in North America, most of my siblings actually were able to come and support me. It was really cool having a little cheer section in the crowd.”
Frank competed in both the classic and equipped lifts — equipped lifts are done with a supportive bench press shirt, typically made of canvas, denim, or polyester — in two different weight classes. Now 40, she moved from the open to the masters one class.
Her winning lift for the classic discipline in the 57kg weight class totalled 90kgs, or 198 lbs. For equipped, she competed in the 52kg weight class, and registered a press of 115kg, or a whopping 253 lbs.
Eyes on the prize
Franks smile on the podium while receiving her medals says it all, but the 2024 world champ said there was one goal she didn’t quite power through.
“I attempted the world record twice for equipped bench and I lifted it twice, but it wasn’t technically perfect, so they weren’t registered,” said Frank. The current world record is 130kg, and Frank attempts in Texas weighed in at 130.5kg.
Despite the technical difficulties, Frank said her eyes remain on the world record prize; she is preparing for her next shot at the world record at the North American Regional Powerlifting Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz, from Aug. 4-10, and will compete in Norway for the 2025 World Championship.
For Frank, the continual pursuit of her next personal best, the next heaviest lift, is an aspect of the sport that keeps her coming back to the rack.
“I still really love the sport itself, and it’s part of my daily routine at this point,” said Frank. “There’s always more weight that can go on the bar, so the goals are endless.”
The powerlifter applies the same drive to areas of her life outside the gym, too.
“My partner always says when he sees me train, it’s like watching someone eat an elephant. It’s one bite at a time, it’s little bit by little bit, and you never give up and just keep going at it, and eventually the results will show.”
She said another aspect of the sport she enjoys is the strong connections made in the gym and at competitions.
“The powerlifting community is pretty remarkable, we’re very closely-knit in every Worlds experience,” said Frank. “Worlds is a unique event, and it really does feel like a team sport at Worlds – we all help each other out and go to support each other and cheer each other on.”
Another win on home soil
Frank’s partner and coach, Bellingham, is yet another support system, both for Frank and the rest of the Team Canada bench press powerlifting team. And this year’s success on the Worlds stage isn’t the only recent victory the pair have under their belts.
Both Frank and Bellingham walked a stage much closer to home when they each celebrated their convocation from Athabasca University (AU) June 19 and 20. The timing was made even more meaningful, as Frank said she received her new degree from AU eight years to the day after she started working for the university.
“It was a busy month for us,” said Frank, who graduated with her Master of Art in Interdisciplinary Studies. “It felt like a lot of things that I had worked towards, I had finally achieved them.
“Studying is years and years of grinding, and then you finally get to graduate and wear the cap and gown and all that. Same with training – it’s been years, years of training and then finally you get the gold medal.”
Frank also wrapped up a term of acting as president for the Editors Association of Canada, a non-profit that provides professional development for 1,300 freelance editors across the country.
Though the Athabasca area isn’t yet brimming with the same community of powerlifters Frank has discovered through competitions, Frank and Bellingham are hoping to do their part to change that.
She encourages anyone with an interest in training and potentially competing in the sport to find a way to get started or get in touch with herself or other coaches in the sport.
“I love the sport, I’m passionate about it, and I think for women especially, but really for anybody, it can be very empowering outside of the gym as well.”
