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Breaking Records in the World of Kettlebell

Karyl Sargent of LaFayette, mom of two and grandmother of three, sets new records abroad

By Mary Beth Roach

Karyl Sargent displays some of her awards.

Karyl Sargent has made a name for herself in road-running circles for about 16 years. Over the past few years, she has become renowned in the world of kettlebell — quite literally.

Just this past May in Denmark, the 60-year-old LaFayette resident — mother of two sons (one in the Navy and one with the Syracuse Police Department) and grandmother of three — accomplished two of her goals by setting two new world records at the International Kettlebell Marathon Foundation world championship for half-marathon.

In 30 minutes, she did 365 reps in the one-arm long cycle with a 16 kg. (35 pounds) kettlebell and in the same timeframe, she did 467 reps in half-snatch with a 14-kg. kettlebell (nearly 31 pounds).

As if that wasn’t enough, she brought home two golds in the Veteran 3 category, which is for those aged 60 to 69; and a bronze in the open division.

Doing the one-arm long cycle, Sargent moves the kettlebell between her legs, then back in front of her and upward, while bending her knees. She holds the kettlebell in the crook of her bent elbow for a second before thrusting it over her head, while bending her knees. She then, again with knees bent, she brings the kettlebell to the crook in her bent elbow and brings it back to the starting position.

Karyl Sargent works out at The Strength Yard in East Syracuse. The gym usually hosts qualifiers for the world championship in kettlebell.

To perform the half-snatch, Sargent begins in a hip-wide stance with the kettlebell between her feet. She hinges at the hips, bends her knees, grabs the kettlebell handle with an overhand grip. She moves the kettlebell back through her legs and then moves it back in front of her and propels it upward, bending her elbow and bringing her arm close to her ear. Once the kettlebell is overhead, she brings it back down to shoulder level and repeats.

In short, she lifted a 35-pound kettlebell overhead more than 360 times in 30 minutes without any breaks or stops. She would be allowed to switch from one arm to another. However, if she put the kettlebell down on the ground, she would earn a DNF or did not finish.

These most recent feats are just two in a long list that she has accomplished since she began kettlebell lifting about eight years ago. Her first world competition was in Spain five years ago.

When her gym, The Strength Yard in East Syracuse, hosted qualifiers for the world championship in March, Sargent did 368 reps in 30 minutes, qualifying her for that event in Denmark in May.

In November in 2023, at IKMF marathon competition in Hungary, she set a world record for the one-armed long cycle, lifting a 16 kg. (35 pounds) 630 times in 60 minutes. In 2019, at the world championship in Poland, she also set a new world record for one-arm jerk, lifting 12 kg. 838 times in 60 minutes.

Prior, Sargent has taken part in five world championship competitions as part of the U.S. team and has earned 10 medals — two gold each in Spain, Poland, France and Belgium, one in Hungary and one silver in Hungary.

“Basically, it’s a hobby you can win medals at,” she said.

Sargent works with trainer Brent Morehouse, owner of The Strength Yard in East Syracuse.

Since there are not many competitors in the 55-and-over category, Sargent said she will often compete against younger lifters. Competitions are based on age and are judged on the repetitions with a certain weight a lifter can perform in a 10-, 30- or 60-minute set, non-stop.

“I have more endurance than speed, so I do better at the longer ones than the 10-minute ones,” Sargent said.

But these achievements and endurance come about through Sargent’s commitment to an arduous training schedule, her inherent determination and a competitive spirit.

While she enjoys the wins, she likes the sport for the challenge of it.

“It’s the inner challenge. A lot of us compete against nobody but ourselves” she said.

Her aggressive training schedule also sounds very challenging.

She works out six days a week, with each session lasting about 90 minutes and includes warm-ups, training and conditioning. On Saturdays, when training for worlds, she lifts for a couple of hours and then runs for an hour after that. Every two weeks, she has a private session with trainer Brent Morehouse, who also owns The Strength Yard.

And she balances the training and the competitions with her career at Labcorp as a cytotechnologist, studying cell samples for cancer.

Ironically, it was about eight years ago, while recovering from and doing therapy for a running injury, that Sargent took up kettlebell lifting.

The kettlebell is a very versatile piece of equipment and can be calibrated or scaled to any ability level, according to Morehouse. It can be used as a piece of sporting or fitness equipment or a rehabilitation tool. It can be picked up and carried; lifted or used for squats, for example. Morehouse added that he has used it to help rehab a lower back and strengthen hips.

A Syracuse Track Club member, Sargent estimated that she’s been running for about 16 years and in that time, 15 marathons, including the Boston Marathon three times and two ultras — one was 100K (a little more than 62 miles) and the second one was 54 miles. She doesn’t keep track of the 5Ks. Her best time in a marathon, 3:37, was in Alaska when she and her husband, Jeffrey, were visiting the state for their 25th wedding anniversary. She said that she told her husband that since they were in that state, she wanted to run a marathon.

And while she enjoys challenging herself, she admits to being a bit competitive with others.

When running, “everyone in front of me has a bullseye on their back,” she said, laughing.

But she was quick to add that once the kettlebell competitions are over and the races done, there is great camaraderie among the competitors.

And while she has just accomplished one set of goals, she’s already come up with a few more.

She is planning to run a marathon this September in the hopes of qualifying to run the Boston Marathon again next April. Her next major kettlebell goal, she said, will be to qualify for U.S. team for the IKMF Marathon World Championship next fall and some local kettlebell competitions.

The Strength Yard is again hosting the U.S. team qualifiers in September for the World Championships this November in kettlebell pentathlon and 60-mininute marathon.