At the very end of 2024, competing in the PanPac Masters Games in Queensland, coming off the back of a flu, an injured shoulder and squatting naked kneed for the first time, despite winning her age/weight category and setting three games records local lifter Kylie Findlay wasn’t happy.
It was her sixth event for the year, but she was left with a weird feeling, despite the success it was a rough event for her and she promised herself that she would come back hard in 2025.
Again 2025 has been an interesting and challenging year, setting herself the goal of competing in 10 events (she entered 11), however a bout of vertigo a few days before the last two prevented that from happening.
Findlay participated in competitions spanning four federations, in three states including four National Title events, and was placed in the Open sections at the Global Powerlifting Committee (GPC) and the Australia Powerlifting League (APL), as well as winning her age/weight division.
This year she decided to compete in GPC after doing ProRaw Old Dogs as she thought I might be able to qualify for Worlds.
She saddled up for GPC States and had her best comp going nine from nine and qualifying for the Nationals.
Findlay went to Nationals, not realising that it was an Open Nationals, until she got there.
Lucky for her, she had an absolutely blinder that day, lifting nine from nine, getting her best overall total and setting four World Records and a podium finish in the Open section.
She qualified for the Worlds, but sadly couldn’t afford to go.
Later in the year she competed at GPC Masters Nationals and was again among the records.
She got talked into competing at the CAPO Anzac Day event, four days after the GPC States.
At this event she added five kilograms on to her wrapped squat total setting a CAPO/WPC World record, which was broken by Trish Armstrong in South Africa a week later with five kilograms more.
She still holds the biggest squats in Australia – wrapped, sleeved and naked kneed.
The CAPO Nationals were not a happy hunting ground however, injuring herself in the warm up room and having to put her opening lift totals down.
She still got scores on the board and was able to try for a World record in deadlifts on her fourth lift, at 195 kilograms, which wasn’t successful.
She was spent, but the proud holder of four Australian records in CAPO wrapped division, and had qualified for Worlds.
She competed at State and Nationals level in the APL, tested/wraps and increased her deadlift National record by five kilograms each time, and currently holds all four National Records.
Findlay’s remarkable year is now over, she holds National Titles for CAPO, APL and GPC in wraps and APL and GPC in sleeves.
She sit at number one in Australia for wrapped, and has managed to overtake the great Chris Pollard whose record stood for 10 years.
She intends to work harder in sleeves as Elizabeth Tassell from Tasmania has come in late to pip her with a massive 200 kilogram deadlift.
That is the biggest deadlift in Australia in Findlay’s age/weight category and a record she will be hunting in 2026.
Her 2026 goal is to qualify for CAPO Nationals and then WPC Worlds, so she will do fewer events and hopefully be able to compete internationally for the first time.
