LIFTING AMBITIONS
Kyle Martin Jr., a 14-year from Fleetwood who recently won three silver medals at the Junior Pan American Games, has his sights set on someday earning a spot on the U.S. World Team
Like many other Berks County children, Kyle Martin Jr. tried his hand at a number of different sports.
He played football, baseball and wrestled while searching for something he truly enjoyed. He even dabbled in karate.
But when Martin was introduced to weightlifting at the age of 7, he suddenly found his passion. Seven years later, the Fleetwood teenager is successfully competing on the national and international stage.
“I love doing national competitions,” said Martin, an eighthgrader at St. Ignatius in Spring Township. “I always like traveling, which you can’t really do right now because of the virus.”
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Martin was able to compete in the Junior Pan American Games last week virtually from his home gym, Garage Strength. He won silver medals in snatch, clean and jerk and total weight in the 15-and-under 81 kilograms (178 pounds) division.
The Junior Pan Am Games, originally scheduled for Colombia, were held on Zoom with other lifters throughout the Americas.
“You still have that international feeling,” said Dane Miller, owner of Garage Strength and Martin’s coach. “They were even speaking Spanish on the Zoom call.”
The event gave the 5-6, 172-pound Martin a chance to do two of things he likes best — lift weights and compete. Miller said Martin’s competitive spirit has helped him become and remain one of the country’s top weightlifters for his age and weight classification.
Martin, a three-time national youth champion, won his first national title in 2016 in the 11-andunder age group. He also won national youth titles in 2019 in U-13 and this year in U-15.
At the 2020 USA Weightlifting Championships in early December, Martin added best lifter of the meet to his third national championship.
“He at an early age liked to compete,” Miller said. “About the time he was 10, I got to thinking he could be pretty good.”
Now, Martin has reached 231 pounds in the snatch, 300 in the clean and jerk and 420 in the deadlift.
“Whatever I put on the bar in competition, whatever he needs to get the win, he can hit it because his technique is so good,” Miller said.
Martin developed that technique when he was young. He started at an early age, shattering the stereotype that weight training should be avoided until the teenage years.
“Dozens of studies show it’s never too early to start lifting,” Miller said. “The way I look at it basically is it’s a form of resistance training like football or other sports.”
And when Martin received the green light from his father, Kyle Sr., he quickly found the passion that sparked his competitive juices.
“They’re not pushing these kids to some crazy, extreme weights that they can’t handle,” Kyle’s father said. “It’s a slow progression. I really wasn’t that concerned.”
But he sure is proud of a son who earned his first medals in international competition and has his sights set on qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2024 and someday earning a spot on the U.S. World Team.
For now, Kyle Jr. is focused on the American Open in March and a chance to qualify for the 17-U youth world team.