Topic: News: Siblings Savor Titles

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Alex Silon and sister Abby enjoying recent national weightlifting championships
Siblings savor titles
By Zach Van Hart

For 18 months, Abby Silon tagged along with her older brother, Alex, watching him thrust weighted barbells in the air. Then one day, she joined in.

"I wanted to do something that the boys could do," she said.

Now both are national champions.

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Alex Silon, left, and younger sister Abby Silon take a break from working out at Beaufort Middle School on Wednesday.
The siblings, who compete for Team Beaufort, recently won weightlifting national titles at the school age national championships in Springfield, Mo.
Photo By Bob Sofaly

Alex, 12, and Abby, 9, two members of the Team Beaufort weightlifting team that has won six consecutive AAU Junior Olympic Games titles, recently garnered first-place finishes at the school age national championships in Springfield, Mo. Both won in the 13-and-under division and in drastically different circumstances.

Olympic weightlifting consists of two events: snatch and clean-and-jerk. In the snatch, a competitor lifts a barbell from the floor to above his head in one motion. In the clean-and-jerk, which typically produces heavier weight, he lifts the bar to his chest, pauses, then lifts it above his head. Competitors receive three lifts in both events, and the highest combined weight among the best lift from event is the final score.

Alex started lifting four years ago, and Abby usually went to practice with their father, Clint, and watched. After two years of gazing and with some persuasion by coach Ray Jones, Abby elected to join. Like everyone else, she started by strengthening her core only for the first month before starting to lift.

Her mastering of the techniques came swiftly; she finished with the tech bar -- a lighter training bar that enables lifters to focus on their form -- after two weeks.

"I was surprised how well she did," said Alex.

She instantly meshed with her teammates, too. Though the only girl on Team Beaufort, Abby jokes and pokes fun at the boys.

"The team just treats Abby like anyone else on the team," said Clint.

At the school age championships, Abby coasted to victory with a 127.6-pound total, but the excitable rising fourth grader still celebrated, probably by jumping up and down her brother said.

Alex, though, mustered untapped strength for his win. Facing a competitor from California, Alex set a new personal record in the clean-and-jerk -- twice -- to win by one kilogram. His second lift of 172 pounds (78 kilograms) was more than 6 pounds heavier than his previous PR. And when his opponent topped that, Alex responded again, successfully lifting 185.2 pounds (84 kilograms) for a two-event total of 319 pounds.

As Abby celebrated even more enthusiastically, the stoic Alex simply beamed and accepted congratulations. It seems the usual routine.

Clint called Abby "a spark plug," and Alex more of the quiet type. Abby said she will tickle her brother at practice to liven him up, but the pair possess plenty of brother-sister goofiness. At the end of practice Wednesday, they took turns swinging at a crumpled Post-it Note -- until one flying wad struck a teammate.

Abby was quick to yell, "That was Alex."

Alex, who will be a seventh grader this fall at Thomas Heyward Academy, is a far cry from the 8-year-old who started lifting in 2003. Now at 137 pounds, he's an athletic force who plays travel baseball and football, too.

"It's amazing how much we've progressed," said 14-year-old Stefan Moser, Alex's teammate of four years.

The Silons, Moser and the rest of Team Beaufort go for their seventh consecutive Junior Olympics title in a few weeks in Knoxville, Tenn.