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By Dan Plouffe
It was a career highlight for Ottawa weightlifter Isabelle Després as she competed in her first international event. But yet it was also a bittersweet moment in Guatemala at the Pan American championships in mid-May.
“I loved it so much – the experience of being there with all these other countries, the competition itself, the intensity. The effect it had on me, I can’t even describe,” recounts Després. “I felt awesome being on the stage and having them announce my name, and then, ‘Canada.’ It was amazing to be there representing my country. That was one of my dream goals and I’ve achieved it now.”
However, there was also an ever-present dark feeling. Instead of wearing a proper Canada singlet, Després only had an old T-shirt with Canada on it that her mom had bought her several years ago.
It was a reminder of the self-financed journey the 31-year-old has undertaken to reach for her dreams. Després covered all costs for the trip to Guatemala, which acted as a continental Olympic qualification competition. And there’s also a mounting debt-load of around $40,000 that continues to grow since she dropped down to part-time hours as a physiotherapist to focus her main energy on her sport.
“That’s been a huge stressor. It’s put a grey cloud over all of it,” says Després, who is currently running an online fundraising campaign through izzylifting.ca with sponsorship packages available that range modestly from $25 to $500. “When the credit card people or the tax people come knocking at your door saying we’re going to repossess all of your things… I’ve had those letters. It’s pretty tough to keep going.”
With a track-and-field background, the New Brunswick native discovered competitive weightlifting while studying at the University of Ottawa. She has steadily improved in recent years and was ready to make a serious run at the London Olympics until back and hip injuries this past fall struck. Després couldn’t squat for three months and missed key training building blocks leading up to this season.
While a standout performance in Guatemala could have earned her one of Canada’s three Olympic berths, Després realized her fate was likely sealed in advance. She placed eighth at the Pan American championships in the women’s 58 kg class, lifting a respectable 177-kilogram combined total for the snatch and clean-and-jerk.
“I did well enough,” says Després, who faced a new set of challenges that aren’t present in domestic competition such as predicting time between lifts. “It was great experience. I want to do it again and again and again.”
For the moment, Després is focused on the national championships the first weekend of June where she’d like to establish a new personal best over 183 kg. Beyond that, she’d love to shoot for Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games and world championships, plus Rio 2016.
“They’re all something I can do. It’s well within my reach,” notes the sister of 2006 Canadian Olympic bobsledder Serge Després. “I’m progressing. I’m getting there. I’m at the point where I’ve done so well so far and if I can keep going another four years, I could get to where I want to go. But we’ll see. I might not get to because I’m already too broke.”