City youths heading to junior Olympic weightlifting championships
Dominique Weatherup admits she wasn’t very good at any particular sport before she started weightlifting two years ago.
The 12-year-old, who will compete at the Ontario Junior Olympic Weightlifting Championships in Toronto on Saturday along with fellow CrossFitPTBO trainee Ashton Jolley, 13, now also competes in track and field.
Weightlifting has made her stronger, more fit and helped her grow into a more confident person, said the Grade 7 student at Ecole Monseigneur-Jamot, who was quick to point out what she likes most about the sport.
“I like the feeling of the bar in my hand and catching the bar. It’s a lot of fun,” she said as the athletes met with local media Wednesday at the gym on The Queensway.
Jolley has been weightlifting for about three years and aspires to one day compete on the Olympic stage. The Grade 7 student at Monsignor O'Donoghue School already competed in the Ontario Winter Games in Orillia earlier this year.
The work the young weightlifters have put in to get to the competition drew praise from their coach, Codi Armstrong. That training, two to three sessions per week, is what separates beginners from advanced athletes, he said.
“They never stop amazing me, to see their consistency and dedication,” Armstrong said, pointing out that Olympic weightlifting is not an easy sport to stick to. “I commend them for picking up a pretty tough sport.”
You get out of weightlifting what you put into it, he added. “The more consistent the training, the better they will perform in competition.”
The young athletes, who have been pushing themselves more of late to prepare, will compete in male and female categories and age groups that include competitors much older than them, as youths include those turning 20.
The young athletes agreed they have been pushing themselves extra hard this week to prepare for the competition. They will also compete against others much older than them – the youth age category includes those turning 20.
Olympic weightlifting has two movements: snatch and clean and jerk, Armstrong said, explaining how each athlete gets three attempts at each. Powerlifting, for example, has different movements and orders of lifting.
Weatherup has been closing in on snatching 100 pounds, and 114 pounds in the clean and jerk, while Jolley snatches close to his body weight and about 145 pounds in the clean and jerk, Armstrong said.
It’s the first time CrossFitPTBO youths have competed at this level, which includes “the best of the best,” Armstrong said, adding he couldn’t be more proud.
The CrossFitPtbo junior program is great for young athletes because of how the sport builds character, boosts self-esteem and teaches patience and discipline, he said.
Two years ago, Jolley wouldn’t have been able to stand in front of a camera, Armstrong added as the boy was interviewed by a CHEX-TV videographer.
NOTES: The Ontario Junior Olympic Weightlifting Championships take place at Kanama High Performance, hosted by Toronto Weightlifting.… For more information on the Ontario Weightlifting Association event, visit www.onweightlifting.ca.