INDUCTED: (pending; elected 2010)

CATEGORY: Athlete

BORN: 1943

 

The rise of Barbara Boyer, long-time resident of Vermont, in Olympic-style Weightlifting can only be described as meteoric. She entered the sport competitively in 2001 (Vermont State Championships) at age 58. By the time of her election to our Hall of Fame she had competed in 7 US National Masters Championships, 5 World Masters Championships, 3 World Masters Games Weightlifting competitions, 4 Pan American Masters Championships and 3 American Masters Championships! She set World Masters Records as follows: Age Group 60-64, 63 Kilos Bodyweight Class, Snatch–41 kilos; Clean & Jerk–55 kilos; Total–96 kilos. This was in Eysines, France in August 2006. Competing in Sydney, Australia in October 2009, Boyer had moved up to 69 Kilos Class and was in Age Group 65-69, achieving S–38 kilos, C&J–53 kilos, Total–91 kilos. Barbara has won every Masters competition she entered, and named Best Lifter in her age group 22 times! In 2007 Boyer received an award at US Nationals recognizing her “grand slam” for the previous year, in which she won US Nationals, American Masters, Pan American Masters and World Masters titles. At the 2008 US National Masters Championships she was named overall Grand Master for the women’s competition (taking all age groups into account). Additional recognition of her accomplishments came in 2009 when Barbara was inducted into the US National and the World Masters Halls of Fame. At time of this writing (June 2013), Boyer holds all the New England Masters Records in Age Group 55-59, 69 Kilos Class; Age Group 60-64, 63 and 69 Kilos Classes; Age Group 65-69, 69 and 75 Kilos Classes. She also holds all the US National Records in Age Groups 60-64 plus 65-69 in those same Bodyweight Classes. Ditto for the Pan American Records in Age Group 60-64, 63 Kilos Class. This will be a very difficult achievement to surpass by other women Masters lifters going forward. Boyer’s lifetime Personal Bests, regardless of age or bodyweight, are Snatch–43 kilos; Clean & Jerk–57 kilos; Total–100 kilos. These came at an international competition in Hungary, August 2007. The final icing on the cake is that Barbara Boyer is the first woman elected to the New England Weightlifting Hall of Fame.

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