Leanne Vigil has been selected by the United States Olympic Weightlifting governing body to compete for the women's under-23 team at the prestigious Guatemala Cup next week.
Vigil, a UNM junior majoring in business, will be competing in the 48 kilogram -105.8 pound - weight class. Olympic style weightlifting consists of two lifts, the clean and jerk, and the snatch. The athletes are given threechances at each lift, with the best lift taken and averaged to determine the winner.
Vigil, who has competed internationally before, said she has been at a disadvantage because she got a late start in the sport.
"A teacher in high school was one of my coach's athletes and that's how I got into it," Vigil said. "Most girls start when they're around 10 years old, so I've had to hurry to get good."
Vigil's coach is UNM assistant strength coach Joaquin Chavez. He said Vigil has done well in a short period of time.
"She's gotten off to a good start," he said. "I think her biggest challenge has been working, going to school and trying to train. I have to give her a lot of credit. This is the second time in a row she has made the under-23 team. To make the team again this year is quite an accomplishment."
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He added that she took second place at the 2001 Mexico Olympic Games and fourth in the 2001 American Open during her prior stints with the national team.
Vigil said that at first, she concentrated on technique, but lately she has been doing less repetitions and is increasing the amount of weights lifted. She credits her coach and her teammates, Rick Gonzalez and Jen Buckner, with her success.
"I really couldn't do this by myself," she said. "With a sport that's not very popular, you have to be mentally strong and I give them a lot of credit."
Vigil has had to work through a knee injury to compete this year, something she said made her doubt her dedication.
"I questioned if it was worth it," she said. "I took a couple of weeks off, I thought about maybe bodybuilding, but that's just not for me. Something inside me just drives me to keep lifting. It's the competition. I just can't leave it for some reason."
Vigil said she has been training four-to-five days a week for up to two hours to prepare for the Guatemala Cup. She said that the mental aspect of the sport is the hardest part of the competitions.
"I know I'm competing against girls that have been doing this for a long time," she said. "It's a lot of pressure, but I have the desire to get better than them."
Vigil said she doesn't have any concrete goals set for the Guatemala Cup and only wants to do her best.
"I'm shooting for higher totals than I've had in the past, at least 2.5 kilos more than my previous best," she said. "I'm still worried about my knee, but I just can't pass up this opportunity."
