
Gabriele Whitacre, 17, does a few different sports. In addition to several types of dance, cross country and track, the young athlete started powerlifting competitively this year, setting a record on her first try this spring and winning her age class at the state championship in June.
Whitacre started her fitness journey toward powerlifting when she was 13 years old.
“My brother was lifting, and I just thought being strong looked really cool,” she said. “I would do push ups before bed in my closet. And I think I worked my way up to 30 [reps] before I went to the gym.”
But starting out wasn’t easy for Whitacre.
“I think I just had too much pride to give up,” she said. “I don’t really know what kept me there, because I don’t really remember enjoying it a ton for the first year.”
But when she moved away from the machines in the gym and began to use the weight racks instead, she said the intense physical work became more fun.
“I started exploring with some new movements to myself,” said Whitacre. “I just got a lot of satisfaction out of seeing numbers go up over time and knowing that I was stronger than a lot of my peers.”
Early this year, at her brother’s suggestion, Whitacre decided she’d try powerlifting competitively.
“I was lying in bed that night, and I just kind of thought to myself, why not now?” she recalled.
After several weeks of training with a virtual coach, and fundraising with cookie sales in Petersburg, Whitacre made it to her first competition, St. Patty’s Power, in Anchorage on March 15. When she finally got there, she said, it was intimidating.
“It was so nerve wracking,” said Whitacre. “I was looking around at the other women, trying to figure out if they might be in my weight class or my age, and they all looked mean.”
Her years of hard work and self determination paid off when Whitacre set a state record for her age class, bench pressing 165 pounds.
Then in June, she competed at the state championship in Eagle River — improving her combined score for bench press, squat and deadlift. She won her age class, earning her title of state champion.
“I didn’t [lift] the weight I wanted, but it was really fun,” she said.
Whitacre said she doesn’t know of any other Petersburg teenagers who have competed in powerlifting. Training at the gym, she also often notices she is the only girl. But she said that’s not a hindrance.
“I think it’s very empowering. I think that women who powerlift are seen as intimidating. But in a way, I think that’s great, because I don’t think women should try to make themselves smaller,” she said. “I think that we should take up space so the gym is not just a place for men.”
Whitacre said she isn’t sure if she’ll do team sports in college, but she’d like to compete in powerlifting — so long as it doesn’t add too much pressure to what she described as a stress-relieving hobby.