On the eve of what became a life-changing experience, Caedan Stearns spent the day on a safari in South Africa, watching native animals such as rhinoceros, impalas, hippopotamus and a “bunch of elephants” roaming free in their natural environment, far removed from his Kentwood home.
Hours later, Stearns was the king of his own jungle. On Aug. 20, the Jewel Sumner graduate and Southeastern Louisiana University freshman won the Super Heavyweight Division at the 026 IPF World Sub-Junior and Junior Classic and Equipped Powerlifting Championships in Sun City, South Africa, lifting for a combined 1,741 pounds in squat, bench press and deadlift.
“I felt like I could win looking at the numbers before we started lifting,” Stearns said, noting that his qualifying total for the world championships were the tops in his division, which is for weightlifters 264 pounds and up.
“We kind of felt like I was going to win but they had strong people up there,” he said. “It was real fun.”
His confidence was bolstered after the first series of reps, which were squats, perhaps Stearns’ strongest lift. His best squat was 738 pounds.
“I was thinking after that first squat, I felt like I belonged here and all of the nerves went away,” he said. “My squat numbers was just higher (than competitors) and if I kept it up, I knew I could win.”
Stearns followed with a 475-pound lift in the bench press, typically his weakest event. He then closed with a 585-pound dead lift for a combined total of 1,741 pounds.
Those numbers were close to his targeted goals of 770 to 800 pounds in the squad, 500 to 550 pounds in the bench press and up to 650 pounds in the dead lift. During the runup to the world championships he said if he was able to reach those numbers he would have a chance to win.
Stearns admitted he did not watch his numbers during the day, a tact he and his coach, Zach Kellem, agreed upon.
“It was hard to believe; it’s crazy,” he said of his reaction when he was announced as the winner.
“I am most proud of the ability to fight (several) factors,” he said. “I came out here and did my thing.”
Stearns, who is hoping to start a powerlifting club at Southeastern, said perhaps the most important lesson to come out of being a world champion is his ability to overcome adversity. Initially concerned about participating in competitive powerlifting because “the only place I had ever lifted was school,” Stearns said all of those doubts were erased in a span of four hours in a competition halfway around the world.
“This can help me overcome adversity in other areas of my life such as being in college and being in a different place and doing different things,” he said.
And how did he spend the day after being crowned a world champion? Riding a 4-wheeler and why not, since 48 hours his view was far different while on a safari?
Upon returning home to Kentwood, his focus shifted to walking onto the Southeastern campus as a world champion, three years after being convinced by Kellem to bring powerlifting from his personal gym and ultimately the international stage.
