Leif Skuggedal (left) and Pierce Northcott (right) both earned gold medals in powerlifting. Diana Bramble earned a silver medal.

By Tommy Osborne

Power lifting

Northern B.C. power lifters earn gold medals

Jul 12, 2025 | 2:03 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It was a great weekend for the Region 8 Special Olympics power lifting team, as this small but mighty team saw two of its athletes earn gold medals in their respective categories. Leif Skuggedal and Pierce Northcott earned the honours by completing all six of their lifts.

“I lifted 259 pounds off that bar, and that was a struggle coming up. But you know what? I did it. I wanted the gold medal, and I did it,” Skuggedal said.

“It’s good, it’s very good. I’m happy I lifted that much. Been doing this for three years I’m happy I lifted 451 pounds,” Northcott said.

Ronald McDonald House

UHNBC celebrates opening of new space to keep families together in difficult times

6h ago

Apartment fire

Update: RCMP confirm arson investigation underway in relation to apartment fire

9h ago

B.C. politics

John Rustad resigns as leader of the B.C. Conservatives

14h ago

The gold medals were thanks to the athletes’ dedication to training, but the extra crowd support from family and friends also certainly helped in the big moments.

“It was great. I had my family beside my side and it was the best, I loved it,” Skuggedal said.

“One of my hockey teammates came up, I was happy to see him there, happy my friends came up,” Northcott said.

For Northcott, 451 pounds is a personal best, but he and powerlifting coach Conor McLaughlin are already looking forward to even bigger lifts.

“I know he could have done a lot more. It was a lot easier than I thought I was going to go, so next year, at a new event, new competition, he’ll do even more,” McLaughlin said.

Northcott remains as dedicated as ever, saying he actually loves the working out more than the accolades and medals, so his gold medal isn’t distracting him from training.

“I don’t like being the centre of attention. I just like being like a lone wolf, like just working out. Don’t really go to parties because I like working out better,” he said.

“Pierce is real young. He’s only 17, so a lot of room to grow in the sport, and he’s only going to get stronger and win even more,” McLaughlin added.

Even though the provincial games wrapped up, the training for these athletes won’t stop, as Special Olympics itself is a year round organization, so you may see Northcott or Skuggedal continuining their training for the next competition.

Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your inbox every evening.