By Ethan Ready

WPO Super Finals

Webber heading to Ft. Lauderdale to defend her back-to-back titles

Aug 17, 2021 | 6:21 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – For two consecutive years, Prince George’s Tara “Two Belts” Webber has gone to the World Powerlifting Organization Super Finals and returned home with additional luggage.

“Even as a kid, strength was always my thing,” said Webber at her home gym in Prince George, Xconditioning. “I always wanted to be as strong as I could. I always wanted to be able to do more pushups than anyone else, run faster than anyone else. I guess I’m just really competitive in nature.”

When she heads to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida this coming weekend for the 2021 WPO Super Finals, she will be looking to defend her title as a reigning two-time champion.

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The 2021 WPO Super Finals will be taking place on August 21-22 with weigh-ins taking place on the 20th. The event will feature the top 30 men and top 30 women for the respective categories. Traditionally, the event has competitors from around the world come, however, due to travel restrictions this year the event will only be featuring the top lifters from North America.

“They’re really trying to make this like it was in the old days when it was really a big show,” the product of Prince George said. “The year it was on ESPN in 2019 was really cool, but also very nerve-racking being a competitor and having all these cameras around.”

This will be her fourth year competing at the WPO Super Final. In her first year, she finished second. Mike, Tara’s husband, says the fire was lit then and fueled the prep ahead of the next year’s competition.

“Second year, she went in, it was super close,” said Mike. “It was a really really close competition. It came down to her last deadlift. That was the game-changer for us. It came down to the last deadlift for us and she pulled out the largest deadlift of her life and won the whole competition. Her confidence went through the roof to the next year. She’s always a little bit doubter herself because that’s the way she is.”

Her best lifts are a 727-pound squat, 400-pound bench press, and a 529-pound deadlift. Each of those are close to the all-time records, and Mike will be the first to tell you she’s able to perform under the pressure of being a two-time champ.

“I get more excited and more intense than she does at these meets. She lifts and I take care of everything else but I’m just a little bit more intense. To see her win was just the best thing. Last year, for her to repeat, it was almost the same feeling. To see her win, and see how good she is and how she’s progressed over the years, it’s just amazing.”

After winning for a second consecutive time last year, Webber was dubbed Tara 2-belts. Mike says the nickname caught on around the gym, but it’s a safe assumption that Tara plans on shaking that nickname this weekend in Florida.