Getting any new sports group off the ground is never easy - but heavy lifting is seldom an issue for the newly-formed Club de Powerlifting du College Boreal.

Competing at their first ever event at George Brown College, the four-person team walked off with a pair of medals, including a golden performance from Sebastien Giguere.

One of three local student athletes who were part of the 93kg classification, Giguere amassed an impressive aggregate total of 1221 pounds (555 kg), thanks largely to his calm, focused, methodical approach to each lift, according to head coach Ann Roussel.

Executed his pre-event game plan to perfection, Giguere handled the nerves of stressful competition like a veteran of the sport.

Earning a bronze medal in the same weight class was teammate Mederic Laplante who accumulated total lifts of 913 pounds (415 kg), completing all nine lifts successfully without faulting.

Rounding out this bracket, from a Boreal perspective, was Youssef Bejaoui, placing fifth (869 pounds - 95 kg) and demonstrating impressive resiliency and a positive attitude from start to finish of the event.

Finally, Eric Demers (83 kg) continues to show improvement, establishing new personal bests with each and every lift and cracking the top ten by registering a total of 698.5 pounds (317.5 kg).