Sports

Palm Desert Weightlifter Heads To Iowa

Anthony Pomponio is partial owner of The Yard Authentic Strength and Barbell.

Anthony Pomponio, partial-owner of The Yard Authentic Strength and Barbell, is competing this weekend for the top prize in Olympic weightlifting in Iowa.

The 23-year-old traveled this weekend to contend in the 2011 National Weightlifting Championships in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Pomponio is ranked eighth out of 18 competitors in his weight class of 85 kg, or up to 187 pounds.

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"I hope to accomplish a top five spot,'' Pomponio told Patch, adding that he only began weightlifting in October and hoped to qualify.

"I just wanted to be around the best in the nation and just compete. Now I’m coming in as competition,'' he said.

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This is his first national event, but his coach, Kevin Winter, has won the competition three times before, according to Pomponio.

"He has a lot of experience,'' Pomponio said.

The event will be broadcast live online, starting at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Pomponio, who is competing alone this weekend, is team captain of “Team Yard," which recently placed third in the overall team rankings in the 2011 National School Age Weightlifting Championships in Flowery Branch, Georgia.

The team has 13 members in three different levels, including seven on the youth team (17 and under), two on the junior team (20 and under) and two on the senior team (21 and over).


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