I) More gold y^-t^bdfor Sarah The price for a room was out- rageous. You had to buy drinking wa- ter. And the coffee was awful. But Belleville's Sarah Th- ompson had "a marvellous" two weeks in Mirabella, Spain. And why not. Afterall she did bring home a gold medal from the World Cup International Blind Powerlift- ing championships. Compet- ing in the Masters Di- vision Th- ompson, a mere 77 years of age, had a combined lift of 522 pounds (squat, bench, press) win gold. to her She also teamed with a female com- petitor from Edmonton to take gold as the top duo plus her Masters team also won the top prize. Not a bad haul as far as medals go. Collecting medals is what Thompson has been doing for the past decade. First locally, then regionally then provincially Thompson be- gan winning powerlifting med- als. As the medal count grew so did her reputation. Canadian, North American and interna- tional triumphs soon followed. There aren't that many blind masters aged powerlifters out there but Thompson isn't only beating them she's taken on the able bodied athletes half her age and come out on top as well. She's become somewhat of a legend in the world of powerlfit- ing. But even she wasn't pre- pared for the adulation she re- ceived while in Spain with hus- band Harold. "They called me the Queen of Canada," she says. Thompson was beseiged by competing athletes as well as the media wherever she went. They weren't quite used to watching a grandmother hoist- ing huge weights over her head. Television, press and radio interviews were plentiful. "I was really floored with the appreciation shown by every- one. The people from Kuwait hugged and kissed-I didn't think they'd ever let go of me," says Thompson. "The minute people realize you are from Canada they bend over backwards for you," said Thompson. It wasn't quite the same reception for the Ameri- cans she says. Thompson hoped on setting some new world records at the meet but there was no drug testing at the competition so all records would be unofficial. "I had planned on three world records but when they announced no drug tests I de- cided I wasn't going to kill my- self for nothing so I let up a bit. A lot of the athletes were pretty angry about not being able to set a record." Although the competition lasted just two days the Thomp- son's made a two week holiday out of the trip to mingle with the locals and other athletes. That's usually the best part of a competition says Thompson. Powerlifting has taken Th- ompson all over Canada, the United States, Austraila and Europe but winning gold med- als is just one reason she keeps on going-meeting people and making friends is the other. "It's a tremendous experi- ence," she says.