Ursula Garza - Madam President

This week on the USA Weightlifting Podcast, we’re talking to the Queen of Olympic Weightlifting, Ursula Garza. Ursula is a two-time senior national champion, two-time Olympic Festival champion, five-time world team member (1992-1996), and former record holder in both the snatch (masters) and clean and jerk (seniors and masters). Ursula has contributed so much to the sport of weightlifting as an athlete and continues to do so currently in her roles as a coach, USAW President & IWF Vice President. In this episode we get into the changes in weightlifting since the early 2000’s, and more specifically on how the inclusion of the snatch and clean and jerk in the overall protocol of CrossFit has greatly exposed the sport and catalyzed the tremendous growth in every way through the last 10 years. Additionally, she tells us what it was like being the first woman to coach a male athlete in Iran, and finally (and most importantly), how she earned her nickname as the Queen of Olympic Weightlifting. It was a real honor to have Ursula join us on the show this week. Enjoy!

Topics:

06:50 - Women’s Weightlifting in the 2000 Olympics Games
13:36 - Ursula’s goals as President of USAW
24:16 - Being a female coach in USAW
30:15 - Iranian Weightlifting Federation invitation
46:31 - Earning the title of “The Queen of Olympic Weightlifting”
53:46 - The growth of weightlifting