In 2012, I was talking with one of Team USA’s top Junior lifters. He asked me, “Carissa, did you ever lift?” Another lifter the same age as him was standing there and smacked him. I’m not trying to sound egotistical, but at that point, I was only four years post competing at an Olympic Games. I had been lifting since the age of 12, and at that time I was 29 years old.

It was at that moment that I realized as a country we have not done a very good job of recognizing or honoring our elite athletes. I’m not just referring to Olympic caliber athletes; I’m also talking about our elite athletes, World Championship competitors at all levels, Youth, Junior, Senior, Collegiate, Masters and Pan Am Games.

Most of you would be shocked to find out that the center referee you had at National Championships was a 3 time Olympian (shout out to Fred Lowe), or that USA Weightlifting’s current President of the Board (the first female President, might I add), was one of the first group of women in the 80s to be on a World team, or that the guy on the USA Weightlifting’s Board of Directors with the amazing beard and tattoos was not only a Resident athlete at the US Olympic Training Center but was also a Junior American Record holder snatching 163kg at 20 years old. Look around, people. You’re surrounded by greatness and didn’t even know it.

So, with this article, I intend to educate and shed some light on 11 women, the women I call my “Iron Sisters,” with some fun and informational facts. They are the only 11 females in the United States of America that can say they competed at the highest level of sport, the pinnacle: the Olympic Games. 

2000

This was the first time female weightlifters would step foot on the platform at the Olympic Games. USA Weightlifting earned a full team (four slots) to represent Team USA.

Tara Cunningham (Nott)-48kg

Tara is the first ever Olympic Champion for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. Her impressive resume includes being a seven-time National Champion, eight-time World Team member, two-time Pan American Gold Medalist, and American Record Holder. She has been inducted into multiple Hall of Fames, and not just for the sport of weightlifting. Tara was an exceptional soccer player and gymnast while also dabbling in basketball and volleyball as a high schooler. She was the captain of the 1995 Olympic Sports festival for soccer and ranked top eight at her alma maters (Colorado College) scoring list and goals chart. Tara was in the first group of women to be in the now-defunct resident athlete program at the US Olympic Training Center.

Robin Goad (Byrd)-48kg

I won’t lie; I started the sport and had a black and white photograph behind my platform of Robin lifting. (I also had a poster I made of pictures I printed out of Tara, Cheryl, Robin, and Cara.) Robin is the only woman to compete at the 2000 Olympic Games who also competed at the first Women’s World Championships in 1987 (by the way, she was only 17 in 1987!). She is a nine-time National Champion, World Record Holder (YES!), American Record Holder, Pan Am Champion and World Champion (YES again!). You can catch her at National competitions coaching her children, Sydney, Dean or Ruby alongside her husband Dean, who was also an Elite level lifter back in the day.

Cara Slaughter (Heads)-75kg

Similar to Tara, Cara is an all-around athlete. Prior to competing in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting full time, Cara earned an athletic scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley. She competed in the discus and hammer, placing third in the hammer at the Pac-10 Track & Field Conference Championships. She lifted for 18 years, earning two Junior and eight Senior National Championship titles, and representing Team USA at the World Championships six times and setting MANY American Records. She is also one of the very few people who can squat jerk. As one of our former teammates Robert Murphy (aka Murph Dog/The Admiral) would say, Cara has some ‘wheels’ on her. Cara was a resident at the US Olympic Training Center during the 2004-2008 quad. She is now a USA Weightlifting International Coach, and you can see her and hear her infectious laughter and cheering at many of USA Weightlifting’s National events. 

Cheryl Haworth-+75kg

Cheryl Haworth is USA Weightlifting’s youngest ever female Olympian and Olympic Medalist. She came out of nowhere and demolished every American Record she attempted, so many she probably caused USAW’s scoring system to crash. (Yeah, you old school folks all know the scoring system I’m talking about). Cheryl is a Junior World Medalist, Senior World team member, Pan Am Champion, Junior and Senior National Champion. Many of her records still stand to this day. She set the standard high, and there has never been a 17-year old phenom with the talent like Cheryl. Cheryl was a resident athlete at the US Olympic Training Center during the 2004-2008 quad. After a horrific elbow dislocation, Cheryl came back to earn the third Olympic spot on the 2008 team. Cheryl is still active in the Weightlifting community and is now running her own weightlifting club in Hong Kong.

2004

USA Weightlifting earned two slots for women to compete at the Olympic Games. Both Tara Cunningham (Nott) (48kg) and Cheryl Haworth (+75kg) returned to the Olympic platform representing Team USA. 

2008

USA Weightlifting represented Team USA with a full squad of women led by three-time Olympic veteran Cheryl Haworth. USA Weightlifting also added three new female Olympians to their roster.

Melanie Roach-53kg

After a terrible elbow dislocation, this former elite gymnast would later go on to do a double body weight (YES, you read that right!) Clean & Jerk World record of 113kg. Melanie was a resident at the US Olympic Training Center during the 1996-2000 quad. A back injury right before the 2000 Olympic Trials placed Melanie as an alternate for the team. She took time off to start a family and caught the weightlifting bug again in 2005. She made multiple teams, including the 2008 Olympic team nearly 14 years after she first touched a barbell. She is oldest female athlete of Team USA to date (sorry Mel, but it’s something to be proud of…you’re the Dara Torres of Weightlifting!). 

Natalie Burgener (Woolfolk)-63kg

Natalie and I grew up competing through the Junior and Senior ranks. We were both on the former National Junior Squad and roommates for three years at the US Olympic Training Center. I can genuinely say Natalie made me a better lifter; she pushed me every day to be the best I could be. And if you know Natalie, you know she’s one of the nicest people you will never meet. Natalie is a former elite-level gymnast turned Olympic Weightlifter thanks to her father Kirk who is a Strength & Conditioning Coach. She is a four-time National Champion, Pan American Games Bronze medalist, and multi-time American Record holder. She was a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center for over five years. Natalie was well known for her incredible flawless snatch technique–we’re talking 105kg, people…at 63kgs!

Carissa Gump (Gordon)-63kg

After lifting for only three months, I qualified for my first National Junior Championship where I placed second. In 2001, I moved to the US Olympic Training Center where I would train until January of 2009. I was star struck by training alongside Tara Nott every day, not to mention Doreen Heldt (Fulheart), Sally Oates (Dibert), Jackie Berube (Black), Rachel Hearn, Erin Okonek and Emmy Vargas, to name a few! I made multiple Junior World teams (medaling twice) and Senior World Teams while setting numerous American Records.

2012

USA Weightlifting’s 2012 Olympic Team was the year for our young rookie +75kg females. Team USA was represented by Holley Mangold and Sarah Robles.

Holley Mangold-+75kg

Being naturally strong, athletic and driven, it was no surprise that after training only four years, Holley made an Olympic team. At five years old, Holley was the Ohio State Speed Roller skating champion (ahhhh, so cute!). After her roller-skating days, she started to play football as an offensive guard, then dabbled in powerlifting and finally ended up an Olympic weightlifter. She would qualify to make the 2012 Olympic team in front of her friends and family in her home state of Ohio. Holley has trained in Columbus, Ohio, the US Olympic Training Center, and the former Muscle Driver USA facility.

Sarah Robles-+75kg

Just like Holley, after only four short years of training full time for Olympic Weightlifting Sarah made the US Olympic Team. She was previously a track and field athlete and used the Olympic lifts to help with her throwing. Sarah is a five-time National Champion, World Team Member, a two-time Olympian and most notably a 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist (spoiler alert!). Sarah was previously a resident at the U.S. Olympic Training Site Northern Michigan University and the US Olympic Training Center.

2016

This was a great Olympics for USA Weightlifting. In 2012, the women’s team had two athletes, and this year they were able to increase their points at the World Championships to achieve three slots. The team would include 2012 Team Member Sarah Robles in her second Olympic debut where she had a fantastic competition earning Team USA its first Olympic medal since the 2000 Olympic Games from a 17-year-old Cheryl Haworth. Joining Sarah were Morghan King (48kg) and Jenny Arthur (75kg). 

Morghan King-48kg

Morghan grew up an all-around athlete competing in every sport in the book including half marathons and triathlons. It had been 12 years since Team USA had an athlete competing in the 48kg class. What’s ironic are the similarities between Morghan and previous 48kg lifter, Olympic Champion Tara Cunningham (Nott). Both were in the sport less than four years and made an Olympic team, and they were both previously successful collegiate level soccer players. Tara’s American records were untouched for well over a decade until Morghan showed up to break her snatch record (83kg). Morghan was a resident at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs during the 2012-2016 quad. She is a three-time National Champion and World Team member. 

Jenny Arthur-75kg

Jenny started the sport in 2009 to improve her softball and Track & Field events. She is a multiple time National Champion, American Open Champion, Junior World Silver Medalist, and Senior World member. Additionally, she broke some long-standing American records by Olympian Cara Heads (Slaughter). Jenny Arthur was a resident athlete at the US Olympic Training Center during the 2012-2016 quad. She is the only female Olympian to qualify for the Olympic Games based on her top placing at the 2014 and 2015 World Championship placement (this was a new addition to USAW’s high-performance plan during the previous quad).

I’ve given you a lot of information to soak up, but I’d like to end making note of three last things…

1. USA Weightlifting’s women’s Olympic Team has not yet had a representative in the 58kg or 69kg weight class. Based on the current ranking list of USA Weightlifting, I’d bet money we will see these classes represented in Tokyo. 

2. Every Team USA female Olympian has totaled at the Olympic Games. Let’s keep this streak going (no pressure)!

3. Yes, all of the women you just read about are great athletes, but they are all outstanding individuals. They are excellent role models to those in the sport. So, next time you’re at a weightlifting meet and see one of the rare breeds of Team USA female Olympians, go talk to them. Introduce yourself. You’d be surprised how much they’re just like you.