Glendale firefighter flexes muscles in national Olympic-style competition
Jun 28, 2019, 4:04 PM
(Facebook Photo/Glendale Fire Department)
PHOENIX – A West Valley firefighter muscled his way to a gold medal in record-setting fashion at a national Olympic-style event for public safety personnel.
Gene Tracy of the Glendale Fire Department was triumphant Wednesday in the push-pull weightlifting event at the 2019 United States Police and Fire Championships in San Diego.
Tracy totaled 1,097 pounds in bench press and dead lift, setting two national records in the process, to win the event, according to a press release.
“It was an honor to compete with my brothers and sisters in the military, law enforcement and fire from the United States,” Tracy, who has been with the department since 2007 and also won the event in 2016, said in the release.
“I was lucky to bring home the gold for the Glendale Fire Department.”
The California Police Athletic Federation runs the annual competition for law enforcement personnel and firefighters as well as officers from corrections, probation, border protection, and immigration and customs agencies.
This year’s games, which began last weekend and conclude Saturday, included events in 44 sports.