Sports
Whiz Kids: Clifton Middle School Students Prepare For National Weightlifting Championships
Kai and Kama Higashiyama will compete at a USA Weightlifting event in Georgia.
Who: Kai Higashiyama, 14 and Kama Higashiyama, 13, are in the 8th and 7th grades at .
Accomplishment: Kai and Kama recently qualified for the 2011 National School Age Weightlifting Championships, which will be held June 24-26 in Gainesville, Georgia.
Key To Awesomeness: Kai and Kama began their training through the CrossFit Kids program at in June 2009. In the beginning, most of their exercise consisted of running, jumping, pull-ups and push-ups. As they became stronger, they began training with barbells for Olympic Weightlifting with coaches Nick Cullen-Carroll and Danny McDermott.
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Since October 2010, they have increased their training from two to three times a week, which adds up to training for four to five hours every week. When they first started, both said they could lift 15-25 lbs, but they’ve substantially increased their strength. Kama, age 13, now has a snatch lift personal record of 52 lbs, and a 70 lb clean and jerk lift. Kai, age 14, has a 45-55 lb snatch lift, and a 80-85 lb clean and jerk lift, with 91 lbs as her personal record. Kai is also the president of her 8th grade class at Clifton Middle School. This will be their first competition in the weightlifting championships.
