POCATELLO - Pat Young said Saturday that he prefers powerlifting over traditional weightlifting competitions because it gives him more opportunities to set goals.

"I wanted to do something that wasn't as vain as body building," Young said. "Powerlifting also gives me the weight bearing exercise I was looking for."

At 45 years old, Young was one of the senior competitors at Saturday's Idaho State Open Powerlifting Championship, hosted by Fitness Inc. in Pocatello, said Sean Anderson, the event's coordinator.

Anderson said Saturday's competition featured 36 competitors, and is one of two contests hosted by the Idaho chapter of U.S.A. Powerlifting, a national affiliate of the International Powerlifting Federation.

Anderson said the international group is working to make powerlifting an Olympic medal sport. It's currently an exhibition sport.

"To get international recognition, we have to demonstrate that we are a drug-free sport," he said. "At every U.S.A. Powerlifting meet, we have 10 percent of the people who are drug-tested."

Anderson said any violation of the drug-free policy is met with harsh penalties. The first offense bans an athlete from U.S.A. Powerlifting competitions for three years. A second offense gets the athlete banned for life.

Idaho has about 50 members in its chapter. And Anderson said there are about 3,000 members nationwide.

Powerlifting competitions feature three events, the squat, bench press and dead lift. Each competitor is judged separately in each event, and some choose only to enter the bench press event.

Each athlete is judged based on three attempts in each event.

Anderson said the sport has picked up some interest since the current organization was developed a little more than 10 years ago. The interest ranges from people such as Young to teenagers still in high school, and includes some women.