Sherry Abblett, Bob Fornachon and Jacob Crabtree traveled to Las Vegas, Nev., Nov. 11-17 to compete in the 12th Annual WABDL World Bench Press and Dead Lift Championships held at the Riviera Hotel.

This annual event featured over 800 competitors from all around the world, including Sweden, Poland, Canada, Brazil, India, Finland, New Zealand and Estonia. There was strong team representation from Brazil, Finland and Canada.

The Napa competitors from Basics Gym were escorted by their coach and trainer, two-time Mr. America and former world record holder Mike Dayton.

Abblett won the World Weight Lifting Competition for the fourth year in a row. Weighing in at 94.8 pounds — and competing in the 97-pound class in the Master Women’s 54-60 year old category — she broke three new world records in the bench press, with a final press of 100.1 pounds.

Abblett withdrew from the dead lift competition this year, but her world record dead lift of 210.3 pounds remains unbeaten, and she plans to be back at next year’s competition. 

Fornachon, who just turned 81, set two new world records and won the world weight lifting championship for the fifth time in a row.

He competed in the 148-pound weight class in the Master Men’s 80-84 category, with a final bench press of 193.7 pounds.

Jacob Crabtree won the World Weight Lifting Championship in the Men’s Class I 132-pound division with a final dead lift pull of 330.71 pounds.