Who is Avi Silverberg? Male powerlifter hailed online after breaking women's record in viral video

Avi Silverberg, a male powerlifting coach, entered a recent women’s bench press competition in Alberta, Canada, and broke the record previously held by a transwoman.

Silverberg has been Team Canada's head powerlifting coach for over a decade. A video from the 2023 Heroes Classic competition in Lethbridge went viral, making him the talk of athlete town.

Silverberg's move is being considered to be a protest against the Canadian Powerlifting Union's (CPU) self-identification policy. The policy states that any individual who refers to themselves or identifies as a woman can compete in the women’s powerlifting division.

Thus, according to CPU’s rulebook, no transition methods or hormone therapies are needed to prove oneself as a woman to participate in the competition.

Avi Silverberg entered the competition sanctioned by CPU, identifying as a woman.

A video shared by the Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS), an athletic activist group, shows Avi going on stage in conventional men’s clothing, sporting a beard. The coach bench-pressed nearly 160 kg, beating the previous Alberta Women's record under the category of 84kg+ by almost 45 kilograms.

Although Silverberg is yet to put out any comments regarding his record-breaking experience, it is speculated that his stance was a protest against CPU’s policies.

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Social media reactions to Avi Silverberg breaking the record in women's powerlifting

Silverberg was praised by many for taking a stand against CPU's policies. The policy was made so that trans and gender-fluid athletes can take part in the gender category with which they identify. This is irrespective of whether or not they have undergone certain transitions or other hormone therapies.

However, several raised questions against the policy and claimed that it was unfair to cisgender females who participated in the powerlifting competition in the women's category.

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Former record holder Anne Andres reacts to Avi Silverberg

Former bench press record holder Anne Andres is a transgender athlete. Anne participated in nine competitions, identifying as a woman, and finished in first place in eight of them.

Anne was also present at the CPU competition as a volunteer where Avi broke the record. Anne’s record stood at 125 kg (275.6 pounds) which was set less than two months ago at the 2023 CPU Nationals.

Anne Andres posted a series of videos in which she called Avi Silverberg a “bigot” and a “coward”. However, in one clip, she admitted that maybe her participation in the competition under the women’s category was not necessarily fair since there is science. In a follow-up clip, she said that it was not her problem since she transitioned almost two decades ago.

She continued that she has had surgery and can prove without a doubt that she has undergone every step, meaning she will pass any test based on the decisions a governing body will make. Anne added in the caption of her video:

“I got PERMISSION from every competitor I’ve ever been on the platform with. I actually care about women in sport because I AM a woman in sport.”

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Aside from being a powerlifting coach, Avi Silverberg holds an M.Sc degree in Exercise Science along with research focusing on powerlifting training. He started coaching Team Canada in powerlifting in 2012 and has since coached over 4500 attempts by athletes in international competitions.

He participated in the World Bench Press Championships thrice and won a bronze medal in 2010.

Silverberg is also the co-founder of a software called MyStrengthBook. It is made for coaches so that they can manage their athlete’s training and can write about various techniques of powerlifting on his blog PowerliftingTechnique.com.