28 | JUNE 24 • 2021 

L

ira Bordoley, 18, didn’t always know 
she’d be drawn to powerlifting or 
that it would set the course for 
her college plans and career goals. The 
nationally ranked powerlifting athlete will 
attend the University of Michigan School 
of Kinesiology in the fall, with plans to 
become a strength and conditioning coach 
who can help athletes persevere. 
The recent Seaholm High School grad, 
who attends Temple Shir Shalom with her 
family and served on the board of the Shir 
Shalom temple youth group her freshman 
year, first got involved with powerlift-
ing in 2019 through her participation in 
CrossFit. She won first place at her first 
regional powerlifting meet and kept going, 
working with coaches from Henry Ford II 
High School in Sterling Heights to devel-
op her powerlifting skills. 
“Powerlifting has helped me discover 
my passion. It also gives me a purpose and 
the chance to find out what I’m capable 

of when I set my mind to it. Powerlifting 
gives me a benchmark, and helps me set 
goals to get there,” she explains. 
Powerlifting revolves around athletes 
trying to lift the maximum weight pos-
sible in squat, bench press and deadlift 
events. Bordoley placed sixth at her first 
state meet in March 2020. She kept train-
ing throughout the pandemic with her eye 
on the Michigan High School Powerlifting 
Association State Championship, held in 
Adrian, Mich., on March 13. “I didn’t let 
the pandemic get me down or get in the 
way of that,” she says. “I was fully driven. 
And my efforts paid off. That was so huge 
for me.”
She placed first in her weight class 
at the state meet, and then in April, 
drove 10 hours to compete in the 2021 
USA Powerlifting Pennsylvania State 
Championships. She won her weight 
class, and in May, placed eighth in the 
nation in her weight class at the 2021 USA 

Powerlifting High School Nationals in 
Aurora, Colo. 
“I knew I’d go in and do my best. I’m 
proud of the work I did leading up to the 
meets and my performance at the meets. 
I couldn’t have asked for better support 
from anyone,” she says.
Lira’s personal records for squat, bench 
and deadlift are 270, 125 and 250 pounds, 
respectively.
“I would say that Judaism has a certain 
culture surrounding the religion, a culture 
of compassion and dedication. I think that 
same culture surrounds lifting, and that 
culture is important to me,” she says.

HIGHER SELF-ESTEEM
Beyond the satisfaction of competing at 
the events themselves, she says power-
lifting has boosted her confidence and 
self-esteem. It’s a versatile sport that has a 
lot to offer, she adds. 
Now, she wants to empower other 
women and girls to walk into the gym and 
ask for help so they can find their passions 
and achieve their goals. 
“Really, anyone can train for this. It’s 
strength training, and I think for little girls 
to see women in sports is good. Maybe 
it would be good to see women lifting 
weights because I think there’s a real stig-
ma around women lifting weights or get-
ting bulky or getting strong,” she says. 
“I think it’s a problem that needs to 
be solved because girls should be able to 
feel secure in wanting to go to the weight 
room and lifting weights. I love it, and I 
think it’s important for people to know 
that they can love it, too.”
Strength and conditioning coach 
Francesco Ruffini first connected with 
Bordoley at a January 2020 powerlifting 
meet and has been working with her three 
times a week ever since. “Since then, I’ve 
seen her grow physically and mentally. 
She’s been able to push her limits and 
abilities in each workout,” he says, adding 
that he’s impressed by her dedication and 
drive as well as the amount of weight she 
can lift.
“She is very determined in what she 
does, she definitely has the passion for 
getting better, and for trying to achieve 
whatever she’s setting out to achieve.” 

OUR COMMUNITY

Seaholm grad seeks to inspire 
other girls to lift weights.

Powerful
Lifter

KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

