Honorary Irish men win the crowd over

IN THE sedate surroundings of the RDS Concert Hall, noise is the currency of the week. Powerlifting has become the unexpected hit of the World Games. The lack of Irish competitors hasn’t stopped droves of people being attracted

Something within the grunts and groans of this sport infuses a frenzied excitement into the crowd. The public lives every nuance and supports each competitor. Gavin Walker, the MC, helps. Any time he notices an athlete struggling with a lift he urges in his north English accent, “up, up, up,” and encouraging the crowd to become even more vociferous.

When American lifter Michael Dundey takes to the stage, the place erupts. The young lad from California is about to attempt a bench press of 115kg. To put that into context, Dundey weighs 64kg. For those of you not metrically-minded, 115kg is roughly 250 pounds. Walker gets the crowd going in his indomitable style, but to no avail.