Margaret Ruhlman

Freshman Margaret Ruhlman works out everyday after school at Bootcamp Fitness in Prairie Village, Kansas, to prepare for her weightlifting competitions. (Photo by Rachel Ergovich)

Raising the Bar

Freshman Margaret Ruhlman dedicates her time to the relatively unknown sport of Olympic-style weightlifting.

BY RACHEL ERGOVICH PRINT MANAGING EDITOR

The bell rings at 3:10. It’s the end of the school day. She darts out of under division and received the award for best lifter. her classroom and into the New Grande Salle where she is greeted by “When I went to her first meet, she just crushed everyone out there,” Ianni a semi-circle of cars. She disappears into her mom’s car and speeds said. “She was so pumped up.” away. Only she isn’t going home. She’s going to Bootcamp Fitness to Ruhlman works out every day after school and uses weekends as rest days. practice Olympic-style weightlifting. But more goes into a workout than just lifting weights. She begins each practice

Freshman Margaret Ruhlman was first introduced to Olympic-style with 15 minutes of warmups, including sprints and cardio. On Mondays, weightlifting after her friend, freshman Isabelle Ianni, took her to a CrossFit Wednesdays and Fridays Ruhlman only does lifting. She works on perfecting session. Ruhlman liked their CrossFit session the techniques of both snatch and clean and so much that she began attending classes twice a week. After a few weeks her CrossFit “When I went to her first meet, jerk.Tuesdays and Thursdays consist solely of conditioning, including sprints, hills, pull ups instructor suggested that she try Olympic-style weightlifting. From there she fell in love. she just crushed everyone out and push ups. Weightlifting is the center of Ruhlman’s “I like the adrenaline,” Ruhlman said. “Once you start pulling on the bar, you have to commit to it. There’s just something about it.” there.” - freshman Isabelle Ianni life. She feels like it has made her more athletic, and she even said that she annoys her family by constant talking about it at home. She doesn’t let

Olympic-style weightlifting is a discipline weightlifting distract her from school, however. of weightlifting used in the Olympics in which an athlete attempts a single lift When she’s at school that’s all she focuses on, but as soon as she leaves, she of a barbell. Competitions consist of two main lifts: snatch and clean and jerk. allows weightlifting to enter her mind. The goal of the snatch lift is for the lifter to raise the barbell from the ground to While Ruhlman doesn’t envision herself pursuing weightlifting as a career, overhead in one motion, while the goal of clean and jerk is to bring the barbell she anticipates it being a big part of her life for a long time. One of her ultimate to the chin and from there to lift it overhead. dreams is to qualify for the Olympics. It’s a goal her coach has been training

Even though Olympic-style weightlifting is the only style of weightlifting her to achieve. in the Olympics, it is still relatively unknown. Ruhlman said that at her last “I knew if she joined weightlifting, it would be something that, once she competition there were only about 15 people within her age division. While got the technique down, she would be good at,” Ianni said. “If she continues to she’s only lifted in one competition so far, she took first place in the 14 and put in the work, she can go really far.”