The Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) 12-month suspension of standout lifter Carlos Petterson-Griffith is final, however the federation will be revisiting the 12-month suspension of Junica Pluck.
This is according to President of the GAPLF, Ed Caesar, who held a press briefing on Monday evening at the Guyana Chronicle.
Petterson-Griffith and Pluck were suspended after they failed to seek permission but competed at the Barbados StrongFit on May 4-5.
According to Article 14.9 of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Constitution which deals with Participating in Non-IPF Competitions it states…
Any lifter, coach, referee or official who competes or participates in an international powerlifting or Bench Press competition not organised, sanctioned or approved by the IPF shall not be permitted to take part in any IPF international or regional competition for a period of 12 months from the date of that non-approved competition.
Article 14.10.5 states that “Any lifter who participates in a contest with other countries without permission of his national federation. Penalties Up to a maximum of 6-month suspension for the first offence Up to a maximum of 12-month suspension for the second offence and a maximum fine of EUR 250.
According to the GAPLF, both athletes did not inform the federation that they were going to participate in the event which is a breach of the constitutional rules.
The GAPLF stated that if the federation was made aware they would have been able to let both athletes know that Barbados is not an affiliate of the IPF and as such the event they competed in, is not sanctioned by the IPF.
The 12-month suspension essentially disqualified Petterson-Griffith from competing at the World Powerlifting Championships currently underway in Sweden.
According to a statement by the GAPLF, the executives have made the decision to not support Petterson-Griffith’s sojourn to Worlds in Sweden, since he competed at the event without the expressed permission of the GAPLF.
It went on to state, “Please note that he will not be competing at the upcoming Worlds competition in June, 2019 or any other IPF sanctioned events for a period of 12 months (May 5th, 2019 to May 5th, 2020)”.
It was also disclosed that Petterson-Griffith has been in receipt of three warning letters along with a previous six-month suspension. However this is the first infringement of the rules by Pluck, hence the reconsideration of her 12-month penalty.
Meanwhile, Petterson-Griffith in an invited comment stated that he has accepted the 12-month suspension and will aim to work closer with the federation in an effort to prevent a reoccurrence.
The 93kg behemoth then stated that he has since learnt from his mistake and has moved on and will dedicate the next 12 months to training and further educating himself on the rules of the governing body.
