Topic: News: Press Release for USAW Senior Nationals

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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USA Weightlifting Set to Kick Off 2006 U.S. National Weightlifting Championships in Shreveport, La., August 11-13

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Weightlifting will host the 2006 USA Weightlifting National Championships, August 11-13 in Shreveport, La. Competition will be held in the HPE Building Gymnasium on the campus of Louisiana State University – Shreveport.

The 2006 USA Weightlifting National Championships is the primary qualifying event for the 2006 U.S. World Championships Weightlifting Team. The 2006 World Weightlifting Championships will be held September 26 to October 6 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The number of athletes the United States will qualify to enter into the 2008 Olympic Games will be determined by team placement at the 2006 and 2007 World Weightlifting Championships.

In essence the 2006 USA Weightlifting National Championships is the beginning of the road to the 2008 Olympic Games for weightlifting athletes in the United States. Two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004) and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist, Cheryl Haworth (Savannah, Ga./Colorado Springs, Colo.) will lead a young and talented squad of U.S. weightlifters on the long road to China. In June 2006, Haworth moved to Colorado Springs, Colo. to become a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The move also means a new coach for Haworth, who left her coach in Savannah, Michael Cohen, to now hone her skills under Bob Morris, the head coach of the women’s weightlifting program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Haworth will be joined by returning Olympic teammate Chad Vaughn (Konawa, Okla./Norman, Okla.), who competed in his first Olympic Games in 2004 finishing ninth in Group B of the 77kg weight class. Vaughn, currently the second ranked U.S. weightlifter on the men’s side has set his sights squarely on Beijing. Super-heavyweight Casey Burgener (Bonsall, Calif./Colorado Springs, Colo.) is the top ranked male weightlifter in the U.S. and promises to be a force to be reckoned with.

Other athletes to watch on the women’s side include Jackie Berube (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Carissa Gordon (Essex Junction, Vt./Colorado Springs, Colo.), Melanie Roach (Bonney Lake, Wash.), Natalie Woolfolk (Arnold, Md./Colorado Springs, Colo.), Doreen Fullhart (Christiansburg, Va./Colorado Springs, Colo.), and Teresa Gaume (St. Joseph, Mo.). On the men’s side, keep an eye on Lance Frye (Moorestown, Va.), Robert Murphy (Sarasota, Fla./Colorado Springs, Colo.), Kendrick Farris (Shreveport, La.), Donald Shankle (Wichita Falls, Texas/Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Zach Krych (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

Competition is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time each day (August 11-13). For the detailed event schedule and a complete list of competitors please visit www.usaweightlifting.org.

For more information, please contact Cecil Bleiker, USOC Manager of NGB Media Services in the USOC Media & Public Relations Division at 719-866-4608. This press release is also available on the USOC’s media specific website at www.usocpressbox.org.