[


KE [NC CUMMING ] DJRICK FARRIS


GREGOR WINTER, IWF


ing his video games,” Cummings’ mother, Savasah, said. For the Cummings family, weightlifting


is in their DNA. CJ’s sister Crystal, and brother Omar, are weightlifters. Naturally, CJ fell into the sport. “At first, I thought weightlifting was just


to get me stronger for football,” Cum- mings said. “I found out it’s a whole differ- ent sport. I love it.” Like with many athletes in our sport, their


relationship with their coach is special. It is no different between Cummings and Jones.


“He’s a mentor,” Cummings said. “He


always tells me, ‘Go have fun. At the end of the day, the sun will still shine, people will still love you, so go out and have fun.’” “He doesn’t let things get where they are


bigger than they should be,” Jones said. “When people have to go perform they usually make it too big of a deal. That’s the one thing he’s always had on his side — his toughness and mental approach.” The best is yet to come for Cummings.


He is now focused on 2020 and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo.


IN PENANG, MALAYSIA, CJ CUMMINGS WON HIS SECOND WORLD TITLE OF 2016.


At age 20, Cummings could be entering his prime in the sport. “My goal is whatever I do is to be suc-


cessful in life,” Cummings said. “Hope- fully win the gold for the United States at the Olympic Games.” No matter what happens in the qua-


drennial ahead, what Cummings did in 2016 was special. “Those records are a testament to him


personally. They are proof of his tremen- dous work ethic, and, perhaps more im- portantly, to his courage,” Drechsler said.


Keegan Snatches World Championships at First Major Meet For State University of New York at Cortland’s Kerri


Keegan, weightlifting is a relatively new sport to her. “I started getting serious in CrossFit a year ago. I really


started getting serious with Olympic Weightlifting this last summer,” Keegan said. Keegan (48kg) shocked the world when she landed at the


top of the podium, crowned World University Champion at the FISU World University Championships in Merida, Mexico in November. She won bronze in the snatch with a 64kg lift, gold in clean & jerk with an 87kg lift and gold in the total with 151kg.


This was her first international weightlifting meet. It was


only her second major meet of her career—the first being at the 2016 National University & Under 25 Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana. “I am excited to get back to school,” Keegan said. “The


World Championship should help me get to a woman’s bar a little bit easier in the gym.” Her teammate, Mattie Rogers (63kg), also took home a


World Championship, setting three American University Records along the way.


USAWEIGHTLIFTING.ORG << 11


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