AUBURN, Wash. — In 2017, Auburn native Harrison Maurus became the first American man in 20 years to medal at the International Weightlifting Federation World Championships.
Now, his sights are on some bigger goals.
Growing up in Auburn, Maurus spent the early part of his childhood in gymnastics and dreamed of going to the Olympics.
When he turned 12, Harrison stopped gymnastics and started powerlifting.
Eight years later, Harrison is now gearing up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Last week, USA Weightlifting announced its nominees for the Olympic Team for the upcoming Olympic Games. USA Weightlifting will send a full team to Tokyo consisting of eight athletes, four men, and four women, including Maurus.
At the age of 17, Harrison Maurus made history when he broke the youth world record and the senior American record. He lifted 423 pounds and became the strongest man in America under 170 pounds in the clean and jerk.
Four years later, the Auburn Riverside grad is still grinding away.
“Feels great, I’m pumped. Like, it's going to be amazing to watch. Hopefully all the training and all the time that I've put into this over the past eight, nine years pay off finally. So, I mean, there's no time to slack off now, we're buckling down, training even harder but it's go time. It's getting real,” Maurus said.
There are two parts of Olympic-style weightlifting, the snatch, and the clean and jerk. To be good, you need strength, power, and flexibility.
“I love the opportunity and the ability to just work day after day and see myself progressing over the years. It's something that I can put a lot of time and effort into and that you can always improve no matter how good you get - you can always improve techniques, you can always get stronger. And that's something I really enjoy,” Maurus said.
Maurus has sacrificed a lot to get this good.
“I dropped out of college. I've literally just been out here for three years. You know that. Like, I put all my time and all my effort into doing this. So, it’s been crazy,” Maurus said.
Maurus moved to Atlanta to train with a new coach and other top lifters in the country.
“I mean it's, it's a very stark difference between training alone and training with other people. It helps me to train with other people. So, it's great to have other athletes around to push you a little bit ... but when it comes down to it, it’s you versus everyone else,” Maurus said.
Maurus holds 12 American records and is a three-time member of the US world team. When we first met him in 2018, he dreamed of representing the US at the Olympics. That now looks like a reality.
“Means everything. I mean, it's like the ultimate level of competition for an athlete to achieve, you know. So getting there and doing well competing, representing the United States, is incredible,” Maurus said.
While he trains over 2,000 miles from home and family, Maurus does not forget where it all began.
“I love supporting the Northwest and I love the area that I'm from in my home and you know it shows. We do have a large group of weightlifters from Washington. I think that shows that you know, we can be a dominant force just like other regions in the US,” Maurus said.