[2015 USA WEIGHTLIFTING HALL OF FAME] USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame continued from previous page


has the potential to qualify for Nationals this year. We truly feel blessed to have children that excel in sports and academics. I am so proud of their accomplishments. I know my oldest two have dreams to fulfill in weightlift- ing, and Dean and I will be there to support them,” says Robin, describing her family life. She goes on to say, “Dean and I have certainly racked up some weightlifting accomplishments, but for us it has always been about achieving goals. You won’t find one trophy or picture in our home that signifies our accomplishments on the platform. Instead we celebrate that weightlifting accomplishments gave us 21 years of marriage, three won- derful children, lifelong friends, and a bucketful of memories and stories.”


Robin is humble, kind and proves to have an amazing amount of sports-


manship. She is not only successful as an athlete, but as a wife and mother. It’s no wonder that she has been inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame. When asked what weightlifting has meant to her in life, she re- plied, “I am forever thankful to USA Weightlifting for my experiences dur- ing years of international competitions and the Olympic Games in 2000. I love my weightlifting family and I am honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I’m excited about the surge in competitive interest in our sport and I hope that we evolve again to meet the needs of our athletes and our sport.”


USA WEIGHTLIFTING 2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE, CHERYL HAWORTH


There’s something special about Georgia. Not one, but two of the


women who were inducted into USA Weightlifting’s Hall of Fame during the 2015 World Championships, reign from the southern state. Cheryl Haworth is one of them, and her long list of achievements include more than being a Bronze medalist at the Olympic Games, and a champion of National and International competitions. Cheryl is also a successful artist, and has been recognized by The National Organization for Women with the Woman of Courage Award. She has been an inspiration to weight- lifters through her critically acclaimed documentary “Strong!” and overall she’s a fighter who has overcome injuries and successfully defended her titles throughout her weightlifting career. Cheryl was born on April 19, 1983 in Savannah, Georgia. Encouraged to


play sports by her parents (Robert and Sheila Haworth), she started playing softball in her childhood years. Through training for one sport, she found her passion and talent in another. After realizing that weightlifting was something Cheryl showed potential in, her parents helped her get into training, and after that she quickly became a National Junior Champion. At the age of 15 Haworth won two gold medals at the U.S. National Junior Championships, but this was only the beginning. She went on to set American records in the junior and senior 75+kg weight class. In 1999, she won a gold medal at the Pan Ameri- can Games. The next year she won a silver medal at the 2000 Junior World Championships, which would help prepare her for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, where she would win bronze at the first Olympic Games for women’s weightlifting. There are so many powerful


women in the world of weight- lifting, each of them with a dif-


CHERYL HAWORTH ACCEPTING HER HALL OF FAME AWARD AT THE 2015 IWF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM FORMER USAW BOARD CHAIRMAN ARTHUR DRESCHLER.


6 >> USAWEIGHTLIFTING.ORG CHERYL HAWORTH


By Merissa Pryce Poulin


ferent story to tell. For Cheryl, it seemed like she was destined for success. As she con- tinued to lift, her list of titles grew, along with her exposure in main- stream media. By the year 2000 she held six


national titles, she was featured in Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine, along with gracing the stages of popular talk shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Regis and Kathy Lee. After Sydney she won a bronze medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games, as well as two Junior World Championships. What’s even more incredible is that during this time she earned her first college degree from the Savannah Arts Academy. In 2003 things changed for Cheryl. She experienced a devastating blow


to her elbow joint when she was injured at the Junior World Champion- ships. During a lift she tore two ligaments in her left elbow. This wasn’t enough to stop the powerhouse she had created. After reconstructive surgery she won the 2004 Senior National Championships and qualified to compete at her second Olympic Games in 2004. Proving once again that she was successful beyond sports, she earned her second degree; a bachelor’s in Historic Preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2006. Pushing through competitions after the injury proved to be difficult, but


she qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Even with the dam- age to her elbow, and later her back, she finished not too far behind in sixth place. Soon after she made the decision to retire from the sport. Cheryl is an icon in the world of weightlifting. From the time she was 13,


she excelled through the sport breaking records, winning medals, inspir- ing others and making an incredible name for herself. At one point she mentioned a possibility of training for the 2016 games in Rio. It’s safe to say that whether she competes again, or continues on her new path of working for Savannah College of Art and Design, she is an incredible ath- lete and more than deserving of her induction into USA Weightlifting’s Hall of Fame.


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