Ranked fifth in the country in her weight class entering the 2023 Canadian Junior Weightlifting Championships in La Prairie (PQ) last weekend, Sudbury native Ambroise Stevens-Paquette trailed no one by the time her lifts were completed last Sunday.

Combining a new personal best lift in the snatch of 80 kgs (176 lbs) with a clean and jerk total of 101 kgs (222 lbs), the representative of the Sudbury Weightlifting Club would edge out a pair of lifters from the host province to claim gold.

With a flair for the dramatic, Stevens-Paquette successfully completed her final lift for the win, earning her first national junior crown only a few weeks after posting a top ten finish in her first ever appearance at Senior Nationals.

In fact, the former highly successful Cross Fit competitor has only devoted less than a year of training to her pursuit of Olympic style weightlifting, per se, though the strength she acquired through the multi-event fitness competitions that she initially entered provided a wonderful base of strength.

With coach Alex Fera adding his technical expertise to the mix, the tandem have quickly worked their way up the ranks as Stevens-Paquette hit the very top of the podium last weekend.