There is an innate athletic competitiveness within the Laporte family clan that is undeniable.

Witnessed via brothers Mike, Scott and Derek at countless local rinks, their father (Dave) on the bench as coach more often than not, the underlying unwillingness to cede even an inch to opponents marked their playing careers throughout their minor hockey days.

And as the elder statesman of the younger generation prepares for the Masters Weightlifting IMWA World Championships - 2024 in (Rovaniemi) Finland in September, he continues to draw upon that love of a sporting battle.

"It's always kind of been there," suggested Mike, now 37 years old and father to a pair of young children. "When I was in Australia (completing his degree in Physiotherapy), I competed twice a year. It was no different here compared to what I had done in Australia in terms of how I prepare, how I felt in the meet."

"You just put your head down and go."

While sports have been part of his scene since his earliest days, the scope of activities has varied, quite interestingly, along the pathway of his life, with weights drifting in and out of the picture at various times.

"It started when I was playing hockey, just lifting in the gym," said Laporte. "But then when I was in university, it was long distance running for me. I probably didn't have a runner's body, a typical runner's body, but I enjoyed the running."

In fact, his pursuits in this area would lead Laporte to run a small handful of half-marathons and well as one full 26 mile trek. Given some comfort with both cardio and strength disciplines, it was hardly a shock when the young man meandered over to CrossFit.

Still, the twists and turns were ever-present, the attraction to physical fitness often found in the gamut of undertakings that one can tackle.

"About a year into that (CrossFit), I got involved with a (Olympic) weightlifting coach because I enjoyed the lifting aspect so much," he said. "I just enjoyed the weightlifting side of it that much more and eventually got away from doing burpees and things like that."

Making the move back to Sudbury in December of 2019, Mike Laporte counts himself among those athletes who perhaps benefitted, just a touch, from the global pandemic. "The break from lifting allowed things to heal a little bit," he said.

Last October, Laporte would reach out to Alex Fera, head coach of the Sudbury Weightlifting Club. By the time a January competition came around, the Sudbury man was registering aggregate lifts of some 263 kilos, well above the standard for worlds.

While the attraction of a weightlifting meet on a global scale carried an appeal, so too did the host country of Finland.

"As I looked into it more, it started to look more and more attractive," said Laporte. "It was just somewhere that we wanted to go. I kind of like the Scandinavian cultures, just based on what you see on TV and things like that."

As the event draws nearer, the focus of the daily regimen narrowed for the man who partners with his brother (Scott) to operate Laporte Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Clinic. "The next four to five weeks will be focused on strength - and then just dialing in," he said.

"It's sort of maintaining, ensuring that I am doing the things I need to do to keep healthy - sleep, nutrition - all of those things you don't do in the gym."

While there are no definite competitive plans beyond the upcoming meet, Laporte did note that the Pan American Masters is set to take place in Los Angeles next spring.

And as we all know, Mike and his siblings are not ones to shy away from competition.