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Page 11
SPORTS
Colleene Colley: Pioneer, Sportswoman, Chamnion
Olympic weightlifting is not to be confused with
powerlifting or bodybuilding. Powedifting athletes
primarily rely on brute strength, and their competions
are executions of three movements, bench press,
back squat and deadlift. Bodybuilders' contests are
judged with regard to looks, showmanship and too
often a judges's whim. In an Olympic weightlifting
meet, two classical lifts are performed, the snatch and
the clean and jerk. If you refer to the photographs
that break down the snatch, notice it is performed
with a wide grip and is completed with one constant
movement. Whereas, the clean and jerk is first
cleaned to the shoulders, and after a few seconds,
during which time the lifter takes a breath and
regroups, the jerk is accomplished. In competition,
the lifter gets three attempts at each lift, and the
highest score from each is combined to provide a
total. If all three attempts of either lift are not
successful, the lifter is disqualified. My favorite
description of the sport is it is a ballet with weights.
Strength must be combined with flexibility and
endless repetition of the lifts to gain technique
worthy of becoming the claiber lifter I plan to
highlight here. No ate has equalled, in my opinion,
the beauty of finesse and power Colleene exudes in
her technique with the lifts.
Colleene Colley is the only person I know to be
raised in an exclusively female environment. Her
mother divorced when she was four, and from the
ages of eight to sixteen, she lived with her mother
and her roommate. Upon interviewing Mrs. Colley,
she had this to say about her only child: "She was a
planned, wanted and loved child always. I knew
what she would look like before she was bom. The
thing of which I am most proud to have provided her
is the freedom to be herself, and the courage to stand
up for who she is. The most important thing in life is
to like yourself, and I’m proud to say that she does."
So rare I have found such healthy dynamics between
parent and child. This persisted even after Colleene
was open with her mother about her liftstyle. This
alone is worthy of a trophy to both. Colleene returns
the love when she states, "My mother has always
been my best friend. She taught me it was good to be
different and having attitudes that were not
necessarily the most popular, were ^
worth standing up for."
Colleene, who, by the way,
turned 23 January 29th, has always f
been a winner in every athletic
endeavor she has ever tried. The
delicate little thing won the Southern ,
States Rodeo barrel racing
championship title at eight years of
age. She competed in softball, track
and was a gifted basketball player.
In fact, the desire to improve her
jumpshot is the reason she ever
walked into a weightlifting gym.
Quite a number of colleges were
interested in offering Colleene a basketball
scholarship, and although she was a great player, she
was and is 5'2" tall. Needless to say her basketball
prowess sprang from her explosive jumping ability,
but still she needed to improve to compete with
women 6' tall. Her basketball coach noted a
newspaper advertisement for a place called Coffee's
Gym in Marietta that welcomed women and athletes
wanting to strengthen their sports. Much to his
chagrin, the fifteen year old got a taste of
weightlifting and forgot all about basketball. She
would commute from Gwinnett County to Coffee’s
several times a week after school. The person
directing her training there was John Coffee. John
still is her coach and, I might add, has been the head
coach for the U.S. championship women's
weightlifting team for five years. John's love of this
sport, vast experience, and his unique personality
promotes an environment void of sexism but rich in
opportunity to train aggressively and successfully. So
the truth is M s.Colley picked a dead ringer of a gym
to launch her weightlifting career.
John worked with heron basic strength exercises
before seriously training on the lifts. Eight months
passed, and Colleene at sixteen entered her first
weightlifting contest which happened to be the first
women's nationals. This was the spring of 1980, the
place was Wateiioo, Iowa, and Colleene was not to be
a champion in this contest. Colleene said, "I felt veiy
intimidated by the experience but not discouraged.
The thing that fascinated me about this sport was the
degree of technical difficulty, and the incredible
mental concentration needed to make that lift when
you need to make it to win. This sport did not come
easy for me, but I have never been a quitter.
Efficiency of technique usually requires 1-1/2 to 2
years of constant training before the motor pathways
are established in the brain. So, fm glad I decided, and
John encouraged me, to hang in there and keep
training."
Two years elapsed before she placed in the top
three, nationally, in her weight class of 123 lbs. This
meet was in Milwaukee, and she walked away with the
second place trophy. It was, however, the first team
title for the women of Coffee's Gym.
In May of 1984, the women's nationals were held in
Atlanta. This day, she says, still remains her sweetest
victory. When
the contest
ended, she had
set new U.S.
records in both
lifts, overall tota
and awarded
best lifter trophy
in the
lightweight
divisions. Not
only that, with
her record clean
andjeikof203
lbs., at nineteen,
she became the lightest
American woman to lift 200 lbs.
overhead. Her snatch was set at
148 lbs. Some lightweight.
Her winning streak continued
to keep plenty of fresh trophies
around die house. The women's
nationals held in New Rochelle,
N.Y. in 1985 and in 1986 in
Portland, Oregon provided first
place rides that established her
dominance as a virtually
unbeatable force. She is
respected by teammates,
competitors and coaches around
the country for her good sportsmanship and beautiful
technique in the hits.
The first international women's weightlifting event
occurred in March, 1986. Five women from the U.S.
were invited to participate in the annual Pannonia Cup
tournament which up until now was an all male event.
Her first trip out of the U.S. had her bound for
Budapest, Hungary.Women from China, Great Britian,
Hungary, Bulgaria, and others gathered for a well
organized and executed meet Colleene set her first
international record with a 160 lb. snatch at twenty-one
years of age.
After that contest, Colleene took a much needed
break from the weightlifting cycle. The child needed
to play. She resumed her training in September of '87
with the goal of being a member of the U.S. team
selected to go to Indonesia in the fall of this year, the
classes at Kennesaw Jr.
College in beginning
weightlifting for
women. People that
work out at Coffee’s
Gym can have the
benefit of Colleene's
personal attention for
attitude adjustment or
workout schedule since
she is employed there.
Her patience and
understanding is
successful in producing
positive changes in
site chosen for the women's world
tournament. First, she must
compete and win April 30th at the
women's nationals to be held in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. If I was
beltin' money, I'd lay down a few
bucks on Colleene. I watched her
lift in a small, but official, meet in
Coffee's three weeks ago. She
clean and jerked 231 lbs. which is a
new U.S. record.
Colleene Colley is not sitting
home polishing her trophies. She is
entering her third year of teaching
people. Her first message to her
students is, "This is a mental game,
then physical. Change your mental
attitude, put your body in a position
to benefit, and you will feel better
about yourself, your life." She
feels weightlifting can be used as a
way to compete, tone up, or release
aggression. A 44 year old woman,
married for 22 years and enrolled
in one of Colleene's classes, spoke
with her about the fact she had
been physically abused for 11 of
those years. After 10 weeks in the
course, the woman divorced.
Another student felt that the self
confidence produced through the course helped her do
well on an important job interview and ultimately gel
hired. I know in my experience as a lifter, a look
from Colleene always inspired me to do my best.
When I started lifting, I was the oldest member of the
team at thirty-one. It always amused me to have a
mentor that was eighteen, but she truly was. .She has
made an indelible impact on my fife. Best of luck,
Colleene, and hats off. - Jane Black
Jane Black has been a member of Coffee's Gym
championship women's team for the past five years.
She has lived in the Little Five Points community
since 1973, and is proud to have her first published
article be for Southern Voice.
EDTIIBE
PORTS
Prouiding recreational sports and social actiuities since 1977.
For more information, call AUS at 242-4899, or write
Atlanta Uenture Sports, P.O. Boh 7718, Atlanta 30357.