Strongest Woman Weightlifter in US Lives in Poverty

bathsheba_c

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/the-strongest-woman-in-america-lives-in-poverty

What do you guys think?

summertime_girl

Unfortunately, I don't think this is all that uncommon. The bigger the sport, and the better looking the athletes, of course they will get more recognition, and therefore money and fame. And unless it's a very popular sport, often these athletes and their families spend every last dime on training and competing to get to that level. It's really a lifelong dedication in all aspects of their lives, and for something that doesn't pay off in most cases. For every Michael Phelps with million dollar endorsement deals, there's 1000s who never make a dime.

For Olympic level sports, you do it for the love of competition, the drive to be the best, not for fame and money.

TheRoadDog

That's too bad, but why is her poverty any more important that the millions of other people living in poverty in the U.S. or the world.

Laces_0ut

in a lot of ways she is llike a starving artist.

macpatti

She's choosing to live in poverty so she can pursue her weightlifting lifestyle. She shouldn't expect to be paid millions in endorsements. I guess no one finds her useful as a spokesperson.

lour441

She forfeited a university scholarship to compete in nationals. I have no sympathy.

ItsCasey

I think it's the article, and not herself, that is trying to make it seem as though her size is the reason she's not getting any attention from sponsors. She seems to have a realistic attitude about it. And the truth is that it's not her size; it's that weightlifting is not a "sexy" sport from the standpoint of companies looking for an Olympic athlete to represent them. Swimming, gymnastics, track and field ... those are the high-profile sports in the summer Olympics. Even athletes in those sports who aren't attractive will get endorsement deals if they are really good, have charismatic personalities, and get the kind of media exposure that comes from winning gold medals. She hasn't won anything yet, and she has chosen a profession that doesn't pay very well.

But in a grander sense, I think her experience is more true to the Olympic spirit than that of professionals like Michael Phelps. I don't mean to discount his success because I know he works hard, but his wealth does make it easier for him. He doesn't have to work at anything other than swimming. He can afford the best facilities and the best equipment and the best coaches. The Olympics were meant to be a global competition for amateur athletes who have to make sacrifices to be able to compete at the level they do. It wasn't meant to be a showcase for professional athletes who get paid buckets of money to train specifically for the Olympics.

Laces_0ut

i think most people are glad there a pros in the olympics now. i want to see the best of the best.

LuckyLeprechaun

I can't see it....stupid work computer........but from what I gather, this woman is an elite-level athlete, living in poverty?

Sort of puts to bed the idea that being healthy is something unaffordable/unattainable because of financial reasons. Right?

macpatti

Here you go, Lucky~

Weightlifter Sarah Robles is an incredible athlete, but outside the world of squats and snatches, barely anyone knows her name. And even though she's the U.S.’s best chance at an Olympic medal, she'll never get the fame or fortune that come so easily to her fellow athletes — in part because, at 5 feet, 10.5 inches and 275 pounds, she doesn't fit the ideal of thin, toned athletic beauty.

“You can get that sponsorship if you’re a super-built guy or a girl who looks good in a bikini. But not if you’re a girl who’s built like a guy,” she says. The 23-year-old from California became the highest ranked weightlifter in the country last year after placing 11th at the world championships, beating out every male and female American on the roster. On her best day, she can lift more than 568 pounds — that’s roughly five IKEA couches, 65 gallons of milk, or one large adult male lion.

But that doesn't mean much when it comes to signing the endorsement deals that could pay the bills. Track star Lolo Jones, 29, soccer player Alex Morgan, 22, and swimmer Natalie Coughlin, 29, are natural television stars with camera-friendly good looks and slim, muscular figures. But women weightlifters aren't go-tos when Sports Illustrated is looking for athletes to model body paint in the swimsuit issue. They don’t collaborate with Cole Haan on accessories lines and sit next to Anna Wintour at Fashion Week, like tennis beauty Maria Sharapova. And male weightlifters often get their sponsorships from supplements or diet pills, because their buff, ripped bodies align with male beauty ideals. Men on diet pills want to look like weightlifters — most women would rather not.

Meanwhile, Robles — whose rigorous training schedule leaves her little time for outside work — struggles to pay for food. It would be hard enough for the average person to live off the $400 a month she receives from U.S.A. Weightlifting, but it’s especially difficult for someone who consumes 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day, a goal she meets through several daily servings of grains, meats and vegetables, along with weekly pizza nights.

She also gets discounted groceries from food banks and donations from her coach, family and friends — or, as Robles says, “prayers and pity.” Robles could save cash by moving into the free dormitories at U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado, but she refuses to leave her coach, Joe Micela, who’s become a father figure to her: Her own father died of a blood vessel disease when she was 17.

Robles grew up in Desert Hot Springs and San Jacinto, Calif., where she became a top-ranked shot putter who earned scholarships to University of Alabama and later Arizona State University. She was self-conscious about her body from a young age, until middle school, when she first got into sports and discovered she could use her large frame to her advantage.

“When she got into sports, she came home one day and she said, ‘I finally feel accepted.’ That's when she just kind of settled into herself,” her mom Joy Robles says.

Coach Micela began working with Robles in 2008, when she was attending Arizona State and began lifting weights to improve her shot-put throw. Within just three months of training with Micela, Robles had qualified for weightlifting nationals and decided to forfeit her scholarship. She began competing across the country and the world — beating every other American at the world championships last year. Then, in March, Robles and fellow super heavyweight competitor Holley Mangold qualified for the U.S. Olympics team. (Robles beat Mangold by four kilograms.)

Because of her financial troubles, Micela donates much of his time and pays to travel with Robles to competitions. Most Olympians make money through their governing bodies, as well as sponsorships, endorsements, speaking engagements, and the like. These endorsements can be worth six figures or more — like Michael Phelps’ $1 million deal to be a spokesman for Mazda in China — or they can compensate athletes with free equipment or products. PowerBar is Robles’ only product sponsorship and her name isn’t yet big enough to land her any big special appearances.

“It’s simple,” Robles says. “If a company wants to advertise their brand, there’s no benefit in sponsoring you if you’re not getting any exposure.”

Robles wants to teach P.E. when she retires from weightlifting — sometime in the next four to 10 years, she says. When she’s not training, she blogs, crafts and goes to church. She went on a few dates before the Olympic trials, but she’s shy, and it’s hard to find a guy who’s comfortable dating a woman who’s bigger, taller and completely committed to her training.

“I still have bad thoughts about myself, but I’ve learned that you have to love yourself the way you are,” Robles says. “I may look like this, but I’m in the Olympics because of the way I am.”

Robles has become a role model to the bigger girls who come work out in her Mesa, Ariz., gym. She’s not entirely comfortable with the idea of being someone’s mentor, but she’s easing herself into the job. On her blog, she shares weightlifting tips and stories of being a plus-size athlete. She also has a Twitter and Facebook page, where she shares her mantra, “Beauty is strength,” with about 350 followers. It’s become her personal brand, and if she’s lucky, sponsors with a similar message will catch on.

Still, Robles and Micela aren’t overly optimistic about her chances in London. Robles might be the best in the U.S., but the current women’s world record is about 150 pounds over her personal best.

“If she beats her own record, I’ll be happy,” says Micela, whom Robles calls her “number one sponsor.”

“I’ve learned that if you love yourself now, you can do amazing things. If you don’t, you’re closing so many doors,” Robles says. “It’s not an easy thing to do. It takes work and it takes practice. Just like my sport.”

LuckyLeprechaun

Wow, thanks!

I see several things in this article that suggest her poverty is chosen rather than forced.
She could go live for free in the Olympic dorms, but she won't.
She turned down the scholarship.
Her goal is to teach PE after this. News flash: PE teachers are nearly extinct as is, even if she goes and gets a teaching credential, good luck finding a PE teaching job. At least that's how it is in So. California and Nevada.

MaraDiaz

in a lot of ways she is llike a starving artist.

This. It's very hard to make your living doing what you love, especially in any area that could bring in big bucks or fame, because the competition is so fierce.