76-year-old Plymouth powerlifter breaks 10 American, world records

A 76-year-old Plymouth man just broke 10 American and world titles in powerlifting, many of which he set years ago.

Ray Fougnier set 10 world records for his age group, 75-79, at the 2019 AAU Powerlifting World Championships in Laughlin, Nevada. He also took home the award for best lifter.

Some of the records he broke include: squat, at 286 pounds; bench press, at 187 pounds; deadlift, at 408 pounds.

Fougnier didn't join the sport until he was in his 70s and he said he hopes that his success will motivate other seniors and Native Americans to prioritize healthy living.

He has been competing in the AAU North American and World Powerlifting Championships for four years, each time setting new records.

"I have a pretty rigorous workout schedule that I do on a daily basis," he said.

His path to powerlifting was anything but common.

"Someone suggested, 'Hey, you ought to do powerlifting. Try it out,'" he said. "This is kind of something that I never thought would happen in my 70s."

Fougnier is running out of wall space in his home gym to display his state, national and world titles.

Watch the video above for the full report.


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Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.