Courtesy Photo | Maj. Robert Arroyo, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade human resource officer, beat a...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Two soldiers from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade took part in the USA Weightlifting Masters American Championship Nov. 8-11, breaking a six-year standing record.
Maj. Robert Arroyo, 16th CAB human resource officer, and his coach, Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Libby, 16th CAB mobility officer, were the only active duty service members to compete in the championship held over the Veteran’s day weekend in Monrovia, Calif.
Competitive lifting is an Olympic sport, and athletes achieve master’s status upon reaching the age of 35. Masters competitions allow older athletes to compete in a comparative weight class and age group.
Arroyo competed in the 40 to 44 age group, at 85 kilogram (187 pounds) body weight category. He took the gold in both the snatch and clean-and-jerk. Arroyo broke the record in both events, which were set in 2006. Previously, the record for the snatch had been set at 110 kilograms (242 pounds); Arroyo took first with 116 kilograms (255 pounds). He also broke the record for clean-and-jerk, previously set at 136 kilograms (300 pounds) and set the new record at 143 kilograms (315 pounds).
Both Arroyo and Libby spent three months preparing for the competition. They would meet three times a week and lift for two hours per session. The sessions emphasized lifting certain percentages of their maximum weight in order to reach new goals.
Arroyo, who had a scholarship for weightlifting at the American University of Puerto Rico, recently began lifting again six months ago and Libby has been lifting for two years.
“I had placed first since my freshman year and started setting new records from that point,” Arroyo said. “From there, I became a part of the Puerto Rican Weightlifting Federation and competed internationally in places like Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and El Salvador. Through the federation, I began perfecting many of my skills and techniques.”
In 1992, Arroyo went to Bulgaria sponsored by the PRWF in preparation for the 17th Central American and Caribbean Games in Ponce, Puerto Rico and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In Bulgaria, Arroyo was able to prepare with masters of the sport and the league’s top ranking world champions.
Due to a broken wrist and a torn ligament in his left knee, Arroyo became ineligible to compete in the ’96 Summer Olympics. After returning home from Bulgaria in February of 1993, Arroyo joined the Army as a combat medic. With a bachelor’s degree in biology, a minor in microbiology and a passion for medicine, he chose to pursue a career that allowed him to use the tools he learned in school.
Arroyo had not competitively lifted since his injury 15 years prior but was ready to compete again as a master.
“I wanted to see if I still have the skills and if I’m able to compete at the top level in my category,” Arroyo said.
As a coach, Libby helped Arroyo lose 8 pounds without compromising any of his strength. Prior to becoming a weightlifter, Libby was a Master Fitness Trainer for the Army and was also certified Crossfit trainer.
“Competitive weightlifting is hard and not a lot of people are familiar with it because it is hard,” Libby said. “It’s intriguing to me that you can snatch your body weight, or more, off the ground over your head in one single movement, and almost double your body weight with the clean-and-jerk.
“The lifts get so hard, and you put so much pressure on yourself to make them, and even though you have done all the work, in that one second there is no strength that is going to compensate for technique. If you don’t do it right you are going to miss the weight,” Libby said.
Both men admit that they often miss the weight more than they make it but enjoy lifting as a sport for the pure thrill they get from being challenged.
| Date Taken: | 11.11.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2012 13:59 |
| Story ID: | 99038 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 351 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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