Power Play

For ​semi-retired farmer-rancher Bill Sindelar of Wichita, putting a little extra weight on his own shoulders has been a way of life for as long as he can remember. 

Sindelar, 71, is a five-time world powerlifting champion who recently set two world records. Though he lifted weights in high school in his hometown of Howells, Nebraska, he didn’t launch his competitive career till age 42. Today he can be found practicing his craft at Steve Clark YMCA on the Wichita State University campus. 

During his most recent competition at the USA Powerlifting Nationals in June in Las Vegas, Sindelar set four American records and two world records. His marks were: 502 pounds squat, 398 pounds bench (a world record), and 478 pounds deadlift, with a top overall total of 1,378 pounds (also a world record). 

His personal best records, all recorded after age 60, include 595 pounds squat, 429 pounds bench, and 595 pounds deadlift, with a total best of 1,581 pounds. 

Dr. Greg Lakin of Wichita met Sindelar at the gym, but it was a while before he learned he was working out with a record holder. “Bill asked my friend Doug Kellerby and me to help spot him on heavy lifts. We couldn’t believe how strong he was,” Lakin recalled. “Then we later learned he was in his 70s! We worked out with him every day for months before we learned he held American powerlifting records, and was training for the world competition again. Incredibly humble. We watched it on TV when he set a new world record in combined powerlifting.”

Starting at 40

The second of four siblings born to Lumir and Anna Sindelar, he began weight lifting as part of his athletic training regimen while competing on the school’s football and wrestling teams through his graduation in 1969. He abandoned the practice following a one-year stint with the McCook Junior College football team to devote himself entirely to raising his family of three children — Karen, Julie and Dan — with his wife Pat, and growing the family business started by his parents. 

It was his desire to better assist his son Dan through his many athletic pursuits that drove the 40-something father to re-commit himself to a weight training program. 

"When I started the business and my family, I didn't have a lot of time," he said. "My children played high school sports, and when my son was coming up, I thought, ‘I need to get back into shape’ and started working out." 

Working in partnership with his brother, Joe, the two men succeeded in growing the family’s farming and ranching businesses into thriving operations. From their humble beginnings, the businesses grew from 300–400 head of cattle and 300 acres of corn and soybean farming into Cedar Hills Cattle Company and LBJ Farms — operations that today boast 15,000 cattle and 6,000 acres of farmland. 

Going Competitive

It was during this run of growth that Sindelar decided to take on the additional challenge of competitive powerlifting, after entering a powerlifting event in Fremont, Nebraska, at age 40. It was there he found himself drawn to the sport, which involves competing in three separate events: squat, bench and deadlift. The three combined scores determine the winner in each respective age division. 

While in Fremont, Sindelar’s chance encounters with a devoted powerlifter and subsequent recruitment by the head coach of Team USA Powerlifting began what has been nothing short of a life-altering journey, which has included national and international powerlifting engagements as both competitor and sanctioned referee. 

Among his powerlifting events are participation in world tournament destinations in South Africa, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Tokyo and Canada. 

Looking Ahead

For a man who has battled debilitating back issues since high school, Sindelar’s lengthy run in powerlifting has seemed nothing short of extraordinary. Diagnosed in high school with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, the deformity kept him from serving in the Vietnam War. And though it still causes him distress to this day, he is thankful to have stumbled upon powerlifting, an activity he believes has helped to make his condition easier to manage. 

As he ponders the feasibility of traveling to Australia to compete in this year’s world powerlifting championship. It will be Sindelar’s body that will ultimately determine just how long he will continue to compete. As nagging back and knee injuries continue to exact their toll with each lift, he’ll be gauging his scheduling plans from one tournament to the next going forward, grateful for the decades of success he has already enjoyed in a sport that very nearly passed his way undetected. 

"When I think back, from not even knowing the sport existed to going through all the ranks as a referee and winning world championships, it's really mind boggling to me," Sindelar said. "I've made so many friends nationally and internationally, and when I look back at everywhere I was able to go, I never would have gone to these places otherwise."