Years of training and commitment have paid off for Doc Derwin, North Bend’s new world record holder in power lifting.

Derwin, a competitive weightlifter who trains at Alpine Fitness in North Bend, set a new world mark in the bench press for 16- and 17-year-old teens Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Goodson-Honda Worlds 2010 weightlifting meet in Las Vegas.

Derwin’s new mark was 429 pounds, shattering the old 403-pound standard set by a Texas teen.

“It truly is the proudest thing I’ve ever done,” he said. Derwin and his dad, Glen, weren’t expecting it.

“We went there with the mindset of doing the best we can,” Derwin said.

Other lifters celebrated the accomplishment.

“There (were) a lot of reactions; the biggest reaction was excitement,” he said, adding that his was not the only record set; a number of other records were broken by other competitors.

“It was great to be part of this massive group,” Derwin said.

Preparing for the envelope-pushing event required extra work. Because a special benchpress shirt needed to be used in order to compete for this record, Derwin added two practices to his already heavy practice load. At the end of the day, though, the commitment was worth it, especially considering the competition.

“To go there, you’re dealing with 100 percent focused lifters. These people treat lifting as more than a hobby,” Derwin said.

Focus and commitment became big parts of his preparation, which was in itself a remarkable accomplishment as he is now a student at Bellevue College through the Running Start high school program which is offered by Mount Si High School. Balancing studies at Bellevue and his lifting practices is a real juggle, Derwin said.

The feat makes Derwin perhaps the first Valley teen, and maybe the first ever Valleyite in general, to set a world record.

“It’s the most prideful thing,” Derwin said.