USA WEIGHTLIFTING 2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE, ROBIN GOAD


Weightlifting is one of the oldest Olympic sports, being one of the


original events that took place at the first games, in 1896. It’s incredible to think that though weightlifting has been in the Olympic Games since then, women’s weightlifting has only been in the Games since 2000. Before then, there was still an arena for women in the sport, and although it was small, it was progressive. The first Women’s World Competition took place in 1987, where women would finally get a chance to show the world their strength and ability. Robin Goad is one of the pioneers who compet- ed at this event. Robin was only a seventeen-year-old high school student at the time. Thinking back on this moment she says, “I will never forget the excitement surrounding this historic event. I was thrilled to meet officials from around the world that loved women’s weightlifting and worked so hard to collectively lobby for the inaugural competition. John Coffee and Ben Green, my hometown coaches, had some idea of the competition we would face. The U.S. team placed a strong second behind China.” Since then, Goad has created quite a legacy for herself, and her fam-


ily. Throughout decades of competitions, she’s racked up numerous titles and is one of the longest standing women in the sport. Her accomplish- ments have taken her all the way to being inducted this year into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame. Her journey began long before 1987. Robin Elizabeth Byrd was born on


January 17, 1970, in Newman, Georgia. She always showed interest in sports from a young age, starting out with gymnastics. When asked how she got into the sport of weightlifting she says, “I’ve been asked more times than I can count, why I choose weightlifting, but I’m pretty sure weightlifting chose me. Hard work and brilliant coaching made my career. John Cof- fee believed in women’s weightlifting and pushed us to our best potential. He is not only my coach but also the father of women’s weightlifting. Having the opportunity to work and learn from John was pure luck!” She goes on to tell the story of


how she was first inspired as a young girl. “My father always told friends he


remembered the day in 1976 that I woke up in the middle of the night to watch the Olympics live. I sat 12 inches from the floor base TV and glued my eyes on Nadia Comaneci. She scored perfect 10s and won the Olympic gold medal in gym- nastics. Dad said I sat up, looked him straight in the eyes and told him ‘I am going to the Olympics.’ I was only 6 years old, but I had a clear vision of my dream. Cricket Shelnutt, my gymnastics coach, had me lift weights for gymnastics conditioning. At 12 years old I was blowing through the weights without effort. Six weeks later, I qualified for the Senior Women’s Nationals in the 44kg weight class. By the time Nationals came around I had turned 13, and my experience there was memorable. I trained sporadically for the next 3 years, but finally made huge gains in my total.”


ROBIN GOAD


[2015 USA WEIGHTLIFTING HALL OF FAME] By Merissa Pryce Poulin


ROBIN ACCEPTING HER AWARD AT THE 2015 IWF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HOUSTON, TEXAS (R TO L) ROBIN, DEAN, SYDNEY, DEAN JR., RUBYLYN AND ROBIN’S MOTHER. It took more than a century for women to advance in the world of Olym-


pic Weightlifting, and the story behind how it was all made possible in- cludes athletes like Robin. She remembers the progression of women in competitions during the time she began in 1982. She also remembers the struggles women faced in what was considered a man’s world. When ask- ing Robin how she confronted the challenges of breaking into a sport that was thought to be far out of her league, her response shows how deter- mined and unintimidated she truly was, “Although I picked a sport not in the Olympics, I felt compelled to chase other world contenders and main- tain an international status. I wanted to prove to all the naysayers that a new era of women’s weightlifting was coming. We were coming even if some didn’t accept us. We would prove that women’s weightlifting belonged international and eventually on the Olympic stage. I realize my career was a pioneer journey. I saw the first of many things for the women’s program. I saw the evolution of women’s international weightlifting unfold as a par- ticipating member of the events. Certainly there were times that we didn’t feel welcomed or equal. Generally, the naysayers were the minority and we took time to speak publicly regarding inequality.” In the face of adversity, Goad would prove that she was capable of win-


ning. Her list of accomplishments are incredible, they include but are not limited to: All-Time Junior and Senior American record holder in snatch and total, Junior and Senior American record holder in snatch, clean and jerk, and total (1986-1992), Senior National Champion (1988, 1989, 1991- 1996, 1999, and 2001), Senior World Champion (1994). She was a Bronze medalist in 1998 at the Lahti World Championships, a Gold Medalist at the Pan Am Games in 1999 and was the only woman to compete in the debut of women’s weightlifting at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia, who was also at the first Women’s World Competition in 1987. “Weightlifting wrote my life story. I married a National Champion, Dean


Goad, and have two children who have current and past Youth National Champion titles. We both plan to stay active as their coaches. My oldest daughter, Sydney, has been on many international youth and junior World and Pan Am teams. My son, Dean, is only 13, but is rising in the ranks. He was the 13U National Champion in June and currently holds National Youth Records. Our youngest daughter, Rubylyn, is competing in gym- nastics at Elite level events and


continued on next page USAWEIGHTLIFTING.ORG << 5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16