It’s a typical after class activity at Whitnall High School; athletes lifting weights, trying to get stronger and better for their particular sport.
But there is one athlete there that stands out from the crowd, which is ironic because she’s one of the smallest in stature world-class athletes you might ever come across.
“It’s kind of funny how that happened,” says Whitnall High School junior Lauren Lent, who just might be the best junior power lifter in the world. “I was into other sports, like softball, cross country; nothing along the lines of powerlifting at all.
“I went to a freshman sports sign up meeting and I met my coach, RG Luckow. He just waved me over to join powerlifting because I had the right body structure for it, and I had the right build.”
Of course, that build could only be seen by a trained eye. While Lauren is certainly athletically built, she is only 5-feet-3 inches tall and weighs just 123 pounds.
To realize that she became a world champion just two years after beginning the sport is a testament to not only natural ability, but also countless hours of hard work.
“She will be arguably after this year probably the best female lifter to ever come through Wisconsin high school powerlifting,” Luckow says. “If she hits a specific number she could be the best powerlifter to ever hit the United States.”
That’s high praise, but it’s not unfounded. Lent has already obliterated her competition at every level, culminating the last two years with world championships won in Orashaza, Hungary and Prague, in the Czech Republic.
“Her total at worlds this year crushed the first place collegiate lifter from last year by 40 kilos, which is almost 100 pounds,” Luckow says.
Not bad for an athlete who regularly lifts several times her own body weight. But Lent stresses that you don’t have to have weight on your frame to lift.
“I think a lot of people misconceive the sport to be big, buff, and unfeminine, but there’s a ton of girls out there that do it and are incredibly inspiring, and totally do not look like that at all,” Lent continued. “I feel like that’s totally a stereotype.”
“A lot of people can get lost in that conception that powerlifting is a sport for people that are bigger and look stronger,” says another of Lent’s coaches, Dustin Devine, who has been involved in the sport ever since he suffered a football injury in high school. “A lot of it, too, is just getting down the form and having the drive to work at it.”
Last month in Prague, Lent won “best lifter” overall, based on a body-weight-into-pounds-lifted formula. At the same world competition, she completed a 440 lb squat, a 203 lb bench press, and a world record dead lift of 403 lbs.
Lent is in the gym six days a week, and while she’s not sure of what will come after high school, there are some options.
“There’s collegiate, which is very popular in the south, especially in Texas,” Luckow says. “There are a few schools that do give some type of scholarship.”
Until then, there are next year’s world competitions to shoot for, which will be held in Poland.
Traveling around the world for competitions isn’t cheap. Lauren has held fundraisers online at GoFundMe.com, sold t-shirts, held raffles, and even sold pizza by the slice at local events.
“I started my freshman year,” she says. “And ever since then my success has brought me to love the sport.”
Courtesy of: WTMJ