It's official.
Dennis Brochey, supervisor of the Town of Lewiston, is the strongest 60-69 year old, 160-169 pound man in the nation, if the amount of weight a man can lift off his chest with his arms are any indication.
By the way, when it’s done with a barbell it’s called a bench press.
According to PowerliftingWatch (http://www.powerliftingwatch.com), the premier online magazine for the sport, a tabulation of all powerlifting federation’s records has ranked Brochey as strongest in the bench press among 60-69 year olds.
PowerliftingWatch includes every sanctioned event from the XPC, IPA, APF, SPF, RPS, USPA, WABDL, and any other combination of initials that organizes refereed competitions for powerlifters you care to name.
Equally surprising is that Brochey is ranked 5th in the nation for men up to 15 years younger (50-69 year olds) and, when compared to men up to 25 years younger, (40- 69) Brochey ranked #12.
Perhaps even more impressive, Brochey, who surprised his audience back in February at his Red Brick Power Lifting event with a perfectly executed 292 pound bench press, is now ranked 24th among all powerlifters regardless of age or gender.
Jason Murphy of the XPC currently holds the record in the 165 lb. class with a 520 lb. bench press.
Brochey's championship status as strongest in America for the 60 -69 crowd is undisputed.
However, his joy was slightly marred when he learned that 70 year old Lee Lichtle benched 330 pounds last November besting the younger Brochey by 38 pounds.
On a happier note, Brochey's annual Red Brick powerlifting competition, which he started in 2004, and is held every February, with all proceeds going to military troops and their families, has raised over $110,000 over the years and Brochey has donated every dime of it.
This year Brochey donated $11,179.77 to the Friends and Family Support Association, a private non-profit organization providing a forum for the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station & Local communities wanting to aide military families.