While in a tiny room in Moorhead, athletes prepare for the USA Weightlifting Nationals

MOORHEAD (KVRR) – In the summertime, you hit the baseball field, the lakes, hiking, swimming, you name it. But for some, they are working out in a small room connected to a mixed-martial arts dojo.

But they wouldn’t have it any other way, as these high school and college students are part of the local weightlifting club known as the Weird & Strong. Some of these athletes come from Fargo and Moorhead schools and now prepare to take their talents to the national stage.

Jeremy Gruensteiner just enjoys working with people to improve themselves and compete in the sport he loves.

“Seeing those light bulb moments. Being able to see that all of the effort that we put into all of our training actually creates a result. And being able to see that go piece by piece by piece, even though there might be frustrations in the training. Being able to see that start to go through and see people learn that resiliency and that persistence through something as specific as this sport.” said Gruensteiner.

For some athletes, they find out they enjoy this sport and even get scholarships to compete on the collegiate level.

“I never really enjoyed sports growing up until I found weightlifting. I used to play football, basketball, kind of all the things but I never really enjoyed them. When I found weightlifting I kind of found my passion in that. I didn’t really know what I was doing after high school but because of weightlifting I actually got an opportunity to go to college and compete for weightlifting.” said Dylan Satkunam.

It’s about bringing people together from many different backgrounds to inspire one another. Because anyone can participate. Any age group and it’s about bettering yourself as well. And sharing that love and growing this sport.

“For me, one of the coolest things has been being able to allow others to experience the love that I have for this sport. Because I personally was not an athletic kid growing up so I found this sport later in life. It’s been cool because I found so many people that were instrumental in helping me get to this point and just life long friends that I’ve met through this sport. It’s kind of a collection of misfits.” said Gruensteiner.

The 2024 USA Weightlifting Nationals are set to start on June 15th and run through the 23rd in Pittsburgh, PA. These athletes will be competing at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center looking to make a huge impression.