Topic: Please Introduce Yourself

[Jack Lawless]

Name: Jack Lawless

Age: 56

Gender: M

Occupation: Accountant

Location: Omaha, Nebraska

Team: Missouri Valley Weightlifters

How did you get started/involved in weightlifting: I was 15 or 16 and a friend had a set of weights.  Several of us tried lifting, and I was the weakest.

Years involved in weightlifting.  Lifted a few years when I was in highschool and college.  Quite for over 25 years.  Resumed 4 years ago.

Athletic achievements:  When I was young I lifted 100kg snatch, 120kg c&j, in 75kg weight class.  My lifts now are 75kg snatch, 95kg c&j in 85kg class.  Have won trophies for basketball, track, tennis, fast-pitch softball (pitcher), and ran a marathon in 1983.

Interests other than weightlifting:  play guitar, banjo, steel guitar, keyboards, etc.; built a sailboat a couple of years ago; won a gold medal in chess in the Cornhusker Games a couple of years ago

Other info you would like to share:  My claim to fame is that I am from the same hometown as Gary Deal and bought his weights from him when he moved away in the '60's.  Also my brother tours with U2.

[Mikko Korhonen]

Name: Mikko Korhonen

Age: 28

Gender: Male
Occupation: Student

Location: Finland

Team: Raution kisailijat

How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: I wanted to get stronger.

Years involved in weightlifting: I have trained between ages 14-16 and 26-28. Trained also between 16-26, but not weightlifting.

Role in weightlifting: I train weightlifting with other lifts. Powerlifts etc.

Favorite weightlifter: Naim Suleymanogly and Hossein Reza Zadeh

Interests other than weightlifting: Movies

[Rob Gray]

Name: Rob Gray

Age: 27

Gender: M

Occupation: University student (UBC)

Location: Vancouver Canada

Team: Semi Weightlifting team

How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: classmate in college told me about a oly lifting coach he knew from high school and that he is running a intro course in weightlifting.  

Years involved in weightlifting: about 3

Athletic achievements: 2nd in Western Canada in 94 kg class 2005

Role in weightlifting: athlete/coach

Coaching/educational credentials: level 2 coach in Canada, Sport Science Diploma, currently in 3rd year for Human Kinetics Degree (UBC).

Favorite weightlifter: Ivan Chakarov

Interests other than weightlifting: reading, movies, snowboarding

Other information you would like to share:

[Cristian Rosu]

Name: Cristian Rosu
Age: 22
Gender: M
Occupation: Medical Student - McGill University
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Team: Les Geants (Giants)

How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: I had been working out in the weight room in a local recreation center for a while and had been doing mostly compound moves (deadlifts, squats, etc) when this old guy comes over to correct my deadlift form. We got to talking and he suggested that weightlifting would help me even more than the training I was doing for hockey (I play hockey reacreationally). I would later see him deadlift 275 lbs x 6 easily at 67 years of age so I figured he must know what he's talking about. After a few more more months, I finally bit and joined the weightlifting club in the same building.

Years involved in weightlifting: 1 year

Athletic Achievements: Lifts are 74 kg snatch and 95 kg clean and jerk at bodyweight 69 kg.

Role in weightlifting: Athlete

Favorite Weightlifters: Pyrros Dimas, Dmitry Klokov, Florin Vlad, and Taner Sagir

Interests other than weightlifting: Ice hockey, medicine

Other information you would like to share: Lifting at this club allows to me to regularly work out alongside three ladies on the Canadian national team and on a few occasions lifters who participated in this year's worlds as well as Sydney Olympian Florin Vlad from my native country of Romania. To me, that's just too cool :-)

[Jim Hooper]

Name:  Jim Hooper
Age: 44
Gender:  M
Occupation:  Lawyer/Strength Coach  
Location: Denver
Team: Team Veritas WL, Regis Jesuit High School (Wrestling/Strength)
How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?:  Training for football.
Years involved in weightlifting:  30
Athletic achievements:  Consistently C&J triple waistline.
Role in weightlifting: Coach, masters lifter, fan.
Coaching/educational credentials: B.S., J.D., USAW Senior Coach, CSCS
Favorite weightlifters: Kakiashvilis and Vanev
Interests other than weightlifting:  Physics, all facets of sports performance training, coaching youth football.
Other information you would like to share:  Great forum -- thanks!

[GabrielNagy]

Name: Gabriel (Gabo) Nagy
Age: 22
Height: 167cm
Weight: around 70kg
Student in University (Economy)
Location: Slovakia, Lucenec
Team: no
Start: I like to see WL in TV and just try.
Coach education: 2.level in PWL, BB and Fitness
Favorite weightlifters: Dimas, Tesovic, Cigisev...
Interests other than weightlifting: Armwrestling (I compete), Powerlifting, Basketball, Futbal, Cycling...

I train powerlifting for 2years and Weightlifting for about 2months.
My best (raw of course): SQ-122kg BP-100kg DL-155kg
WL: FSQ-90kg SN-60kg CJ-80kg

Im for clean and raw lifts, but that is a little bit unreal in the world. :(

[David Hawkins]

Name: David Hawkins
Age: 28
Gender: M
Occupation: Government stuff
Location: DC
Team: I don't belong to one.
How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: I just started. I did Bodybuilding for a bit which evolved into powerlifting last May. I did 2 competitions and then decided I wanted to take the next leap to Weightlifting.
Years involved in weightlifting: 2 weeks
Athletic achievements: I've won two powerlifting competitions in my wt class (not saying much LOL).
Role in weightlifting: I'd like to get the technique down and start doing some competitions
Coaching/educational credentials: None
Favorite weightlifter: Pyrros Dimas
Interests other than weightlifting: Reading, Movies, Spending time with wife.
Other information you would like to share: All the help I can get is appreciated :D

[arthur_chidlovski]

:: Name: Arthur Chidlovski
:: Age/Gender/Occupation: 42/Male/Web Systems Engineer
:: Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
:: Team: Unaffiliated

:: How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: Tried to launch a successful career in junior sports including hockey (lasted 15 mins), boxing (lasted 2 years), Olympic weightlifting (lasted 7 years). The last one seemed to fit my personality the most. What can you expect - Olympic weightlifting is the coolest sports on Earth!
:: Years involved in weightlifting: Former competitive Olympic weightlifter in Russia in 1979-1986 (junior and college level); after knees' injury at 22, took a break from Olympic Weightlifting up until 2000, when I launched a Lift Up web site about the history of Olympic weightlifting.
:: Athletic achievements: Nothing fascinating - 97.5KG+137.5KG (in the 67.5KG class)
:: Role in weightlifting: Run a web site about the history of Olympic Weightlifting; Spontaneoulsy do Olympic lifts and... surprisingly do recreational powerlifts at home.
:: Coaching/educational credentials: Worked as an assistant coach in college in Moscow, Russia.
:: Favorite weightlifter: 1. David Rigert 2.-10. Yanko Rusev, Anatoly Pisarenko, Kanybek Osmonaliev, Alexander Pervy, Tommy Kono, Alexey Vakhonin, Akakide Kakhiashvilis, Yurik Vardanyan, Blagoy Blagoev.
:: Interests other than weightlifting:
history, filmmaking and filmwatching, hockey
:: Other information you would like to share:
married, the rest at www.chidlovski.com