Meet the 7-yr-old girl who can deadlift 80Kg
Meet the 7-yr-old girl who can deadlift 80Kg
(Web Desk) - Rory van Ulft, a 7-year-old Canadian gymnast, has been raising eyebrows with her weightlifting achievements, recently becoming the youngest under-11 and under-13s US Youth National Champion in history.
Rory took up weightlifting about two years ago, as a way of becoming stronger. She had started doing gymnastics but learned that she could get injured doing certain things, if she wasn’t strong enough. She started lifting weights in the the snatch and the clean and jerk styles, under the careful supervision of a trainer, and gradually developed her strength to the point that she now lifts weights that some adults would probably struggle with. She can snatch 32kg, clean and jerk 42kg, as well as squat 61kg, and deadlift 80kg using an Olympic women’s bar.
Last year, Rory van Ulft finished eight out of thirteen kids at the U.S. National Youth Championships, in the 13-and-under girls’ category, despite being the youngest competitor by two years, and the lightest by almost 10 kilograms. She made quite an impression, so no one was shocked that at this year’s championships, she managed to take the number one spot.
“Based on her current Sinclair total, Rory is not only the strongest seven-year-old in the world, she is likely also the strongest seven-year-old girl or boy who has ever lived, for whom there are verifiable competition results,” the girl’s father, Cavan van Ulft, said.
The 7-year-old, who wears fake, temporary tattoos when competing, considers herself a gymnast first and foremost, but says that she loves getting stronger as a result of weightlifting, as this allows her to do new things in her gymnastics routines.
“I like getting stronger. Being stronger lets me do more and get better at everything I try. I don’t think about what came before, or what will come after. I don’t think about anything. I just clear my mind and do it,” she said.
