Cameroon lifter dominates local event, wants to represent Uganda

Jude Same-Same, better known by his moniker Matamori, among his peers, emerged the overall winner at the inaugural National Powerlifting Club Championship, at Land Star Hotel in Makindye Saturday.

The chubby Cameroonian lifter exuded sheer power and accuracy as he never got any lift wrong in all the events, to win two categories and finish in the third.

Solo show
His first victory came in the squat category where he lifted an aggregate 740kg in three attempts: 230kg, 250kg and 260kg.
Matamori’s main rivals Dimitry Nembo, Sulaiman Ssembatya and Ronald Lukonge wanted to match his 260kg lift but all failed in their last attempts.

In the bench press category, where most struggled and failed in the attempt to lift 140kg, Matamori was a class apart, lifting: 170kg, 180 and 185kg.

“My personal best in bench-press is 200kg but I haven’t trained well due to covid-19 disruptions,” the 36-year old, who is also a gym instructor at ISK Gym in Ndeeba, told Daily Monitor during the break.

Only weakness
But he confessed that the deadlift, which was coming next, was his weakness. 
No wonder, his first attempt was 230kg and the second 255kg, while Nembo’s first attempt was a massive 270kg, and took the day. 

Nembo failed in his 280kg-attempt but Lukonge’s 275kg attempt was also null and Donavan Noeba could not better his 260kg-lift because the event was ended prematurely due to curfew.

Even then, there was no denying Matamori’s dominant performance that won him Shs500, 000 and an additional Shs100, 000 (for the winning the bench category). But the Cameroonian’s goal is to represent Uganda.
“This is just the beginning; I want to work harder and I want to represent Uganda in international tournaments,” Matamori told us.

“I love powerlifting, and the crowds in Uganda motivate me to do better, more.”
The lifter, who weighs 112kg, said he knows his way around the rugby pitch - he played long time ago - but powerlifting is his passion.

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