Topic: News: Patrick Judge has lifting goals on schedule

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Patrick Judge has lifting goals on schedule

In just three years, Sarasota's Patrick Judge has established himself as one of the nation's top Olympic-style weightlifters.

The 2004 Cardinal Mooney graduate recently won the 105+-kilogram weight class at the USA Weightlifting National Championship meet in Columbus, Ohio. Judge totaled 367 kilograms (807.4 pounds), lifting 162 kilograms in the snatch and 205 kilograms in the clean and jerk, and beat his nearest competitor, Caine Wilkes, by 14 kilograms.

Judge finished third in the heavyweight class at the Class 1A FHSAA Finals during his senior year of high school and led the Cougars to a third-place finish. He started working with Rich Lansky of Team Florida Gulf Coast in 2005 and eventually earned an invitation to reside at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Judge lifted a total of 352 kilograms en route to winning the American Open last December in Birmingham, Ala. Although he currently ranks as the nation's top lifter in his class and ninth among all United States weightlifters, Judge will probably have to wait at least another four years for his shot at the Olympics.

The United States is not guaranteed any spots in men's weightlifting at the Beijing Games and the country's eight lifters left on Monday for Peru, where they will try to earn two spots in Olympic competition.