2015 Colorado State And Open Weightlifting Competition Results
Feb 28, 2015
When former Olympian Paul Fleschler first hosted the Colorado state championships in 2001, he had 15 competitors. At the 2015 Colorado State Championships set to take place Feb. 28-March 1, more than 150 lifters are on the roster -- so many that he’s had to add a second platform and extend registration to accommodate the athletes. “It’s unprecedented,” said Fleschler, owner and head coach of Front Range Weightlifting Club in Colorado Springs. According to officials with USA Weightlifting, membership to the organization more than doubled between 2010 and 2014, reaching more than 18,000 weightlifters in four age groups. “I attribute a lot of the growth to CrossFit,” said Fleschler. “It raised a lot of awareness for our sport.”Fleschler said he’s excited to see the numbers athletes put up and the support the weightlifting and CrossFit communities have shown. “Most of the time you only see weightlifting during the Olympics. Now we’re live-streaming competitions and creating more awareness. CrossFitters are tuning in and enjoying watching the nation’s best lifters,” he said. “The more people that know about the sport, the more people want to try it.” Fleschler said he has athletes as young as 13 competing along with masters athletes. “It’s a lifelong sport,” he said. “I started at 13 and I’m still doing it at 48 years old.” Erin Amos, 16, said she became interested in weightlifting after her father exposed her to the sport through CrossFit. “I like that you get three attempts and when you compete, it’s all about you,” said Amos, who competes in the 48-kg weight class and was recently accepted to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where she’s the youngest athlete by three years.“It’s very inspiring to watch the other lifters, especially the girls, who have accomplished a lot and have traveled a lot,” she said, adding that she admires lifters Jenny Arthur and Ellen Kercher. This weekend, Amos said she hopes to PR both her 65-kg snatch and 83-kg clean and jerk. “I feel really confident,” she said. “I haven’t PR’d in over a year in competition and I plan to have a really good showing.” Jared Enderton is also ready to put up big numbers, hoping to push his total past 340 kgs. The 26-year-old athlete who competes in the 94-kg weight class said he’s hoping to qualify for the world championships, but he knows the increased competition he faces. “Before, a 330-kg total could qualify you,” said Enderton, whose current PR is 332-kgs, although he hasn’t broken 330-kgs in his past three meets. “Now, with a 330-kg total you might be ranked ninth.” Enderton attributes the need to put up bigger numbers to the influx of athletes taking up the sport. “There are more people competing than ever before and we’re seeing more American records being set now,” he said, adding that he intends to focus on his own numbers rather than the competition. “I want big numbers and pressure produces diamonds.” Related Articles: Leblanc-Bazinet Registers For 2015 Open 2015 CrossFit Open Live Announcements FloElite To LIVE STREAM The 2015 Colorado State And Open Championships ENTER TO WIN A YEAR OF FLOPRO!
Feb 24, 2015
FloElite is excited to announce that it will be LIVE streaming this year's Colorado State and Open Weightlifting Championships, February 28th - March 1st. Featuring competitors aging from 8 years old to 70 years old, this year's competition stands out as the largest competition in the history of the state with over 150 competitors. "Front Range Weightlifting Club is proud to partner with FloElite to stream our Colorado State Championships," said event director and former Olympian, Paul Fleschler. "This will be the biggest local competition in the history of our state with over 150 Weightlifters! We will have several national caliber weightlifters including Ulysses Yarbrough, Erin Amos, Jacque Payne, Arlene Ward, Jackie Black and Jared Enderton. If you can't physically make the competition, watch it at home on FloElite.com. Stay tuned for the greatest local competition in Colorado history!" To view this weekend's Colorado State and Open Weightlifting Competition, you must be a subscriber to FloElite's premium subscription service, FloPRO. FloPRO subscriptions come in the following two pricing plans: $150/yearly subscription, $20/monthly subscription. Competition Schedule
Feb 23, 2015
If you were in Atlanta for the 2015 Garage Games One recently, chances are you witnessed the battle between Jon North and Jared Enderton as they threw down at the AWF sanctioned weightlifting portion of the GG1. It was here that Enderton proved he could hang with the best. Hitting his second C&J at 170 kgs, Jared felt confident enough to make a 15 kilo jump for his third attempt, a feat not many lifters would dare try- many compared it to the likeness of the one and only, Donny Shankle. But sure as hell, Enderton smashed his 185 kgs attempt, and set a new competition PR for himself, giving North a run for his money. As he prepares to take on the Colorado Weightlifting Championships this weekend, Jared talks about his training and how his sights are set to hit new PR's in Colorado Springs. You just competed at the Garage Games in Atlanta, Georgia where you had a competition PR, can you walk me through that experience? The Garage Games was an incredible experience. I spent the whole month traveling (was in the UK), and flew in to GA on a couple days notice. It's always good to hit a competition PR, but, to do it after all the traveling was icing on the cake. It definitely was a good confidence boost that I've been doing the right things in training. 2015 will be the best year yet! Are you aiming to hit the same numbers and total in Colorado? Definitely not. Much lower. Ha! Just kidding. I did 144/185 at the Garage Games. I've had a few great weeks of training and fully expect to do 150/190 at the CO State Championships. I've been making some small technique changes that seem to have paid off. We'll see! Since the high of Garage Games, what has training been like in preparation for the Colorado State And Open? It's been great. In 2013 I had hip surgery. In 2014 I was having some more hip pain on that side. Finally - so far in 2015 (knock on wood) I haven't had any pain or injuries. So that always means training is going good. I'm training through the CO State Championships actually. The Arnold is the weekend after and that is the big meet I have been training for. So, I'll treat this meet like a training day to test what my openers will be for the Arnold. I know I'll still set PR's on both lifts. What expectations have you set for yourself heading into the weekend? 150/190 would be a really good result for me. A lot of other 94's are snatching much higher (on a national scale), but I'm taking steps in the right direction. The C&J has been going really well for me. How do you think you stack up in comparison to your competition? Very honestly - I haven't looked at the start list. I did hear there are about 15 other athletes in the 94kg class. That gives me an idea of how much time after weigh-ins I will have to digest food haha. That's always important so I'm not to full heading into the snatch. The goal is always to win. Generally at local meets there are a lot of up and coming athletes that are good to see progress and lift. What are your thoughts on the entire competition? I competed last year and it was a great event. I went 146/182 and had me feeling really good going into the Arnold (last year it was 2 weeks before the Arnold). I went on to do 149/183 at the Arnold. It's always a good testing meet for me. It was a blast last year. The atmosphere was amazing. A ton of people watching, lots of athletes, and music. I can't ask for much more than that! What aspects do you possess that set you apart from other lifters? Oh boy, that's a tough question. I'm still learning. I've been weightlifting 5 years, but, I'm always picking up bits and pieces. I think the big thing I've learned in the last year is to just relax. I get stressed having too many coaches in the back room telling me when to take attempts. I like to wing it and just have fun! If I have fun I know my lifting will show that. If I am stressed - my lifting will also show that. I'm just ready to go have fun! What is it going to take to win this weekend? In terms of actual lifting #'s I'm not sure. I know my goals are 150/190. Wherever that lands me I am fine with. I used to get too caught up into what other people are doing. My only goal for competitions now is to try to get every single kilo out of myself that I can. When I worry about other people I take too big of jumps and end up missing lifts. I want to go 6/6 and set new competition PR snatches, Clean & Jerk, and a total! That would take 150/186/336 at minimum. "I also wanted to say a huge thank you to FloElite for all of your coverage of Crossfit & Weightlifting. I've been wanting a company like you guys to come around forever. Keep up the great work." Related Articles: Leblanc-Bazinet Registers For 2015 Open 2015 CrossFit Open Live Announcements WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN!
