It may not have had all the fanfare typically afforded to a national tournament, but that did not stop competitors at the 2017 Australian All-Round Weightlifting tournament from going for gold.
The discipline honours the sport of weightlifting's origins with lifts designed to mimic those employed by strongmen at country fairs and shows in years gone by.
Several world records were broken throughout the day's competition, with Perth lifter Miriam Phillips one of two female athletes to secure one.
"I'm quite excited because that is one record I've been chasing for a while now," Ms Phillips told the ABC shortly after lifting 400 kilograms in the Hand and Thigh division, in which athletes clear an improvised barbell via a chain affixed to a tee-piece.
"A lot goes into those couple of seconds of competition so I'm also pretty spent. But overall I'm pretty thrilled with how the day's gone."
Bunbury lifter Kiara Small also lifted her way into the record books in what was her first All-Round tournament.
She said she was encouraged to give it a go and found it worked well given her background in the more traditional sport of powerlifting.
"I wasn't even going to lift today but I was encouraged by everyone to have a go, so I did," Ms Small said.
"Given how well I went, I think I might stick to it!"
Event organiser and secretary of WA's All-Round Weightlifting club, John Mahon, said although the tournament was "pretty low-key" it served the perfect preparation for the upcoming World Championships which will be held in Perth in September.
"We're proud of the fact this a sport for all ages and genders. We've had lifters up to the age of 84 years of age on our platforms and we've had them as young as twelve years old on our platform," Mr Mahon said.
"We're here to have fun, support each other and it's getting people active as well, keeping everyone active."
He said most competitors that were drawn to the sport already had a background in lifting, with the added attraction of tapping into a historical element.
"It's a sport that does all the old school weightlifting that the guys used to do at strong man and old circus competitions," Mr Mahon told the ABC as competition continued.
"That's the whole idea of this. We want to preserve what weightlifting used to be and what those old time strong men used to do."
