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CNN SUNDAY MORNING
Interview With Cheryl Haworth
Aired October 6, 2002 - 11:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Cheryl Haworth is the strongest teenage girl in the world and an Olympic champion in weightlifting, and Cheryl joins us live from her home town of Savannah, Georgia, where she is already training for the next Olympics in Athens. Good to see you.
All right, you just can't have enough. You got the Olympic medal and you've got several titles on the national level and now you're vying to be the strongest woman in the world through a competition next week. How do you train for that?
CHERYL HAWORTH, WORLD'S STRONGEST TEEN: Well, I'm out of control. You just have to go for it. You get so close to it, you can't stop, and you really don't need to change anything. You know, I've gotten this far. You know, you don't really fix what's not broken. So we just go in there and do what we've been doing the last couple of years. It seems to be working, and we're going to keep going. Consistency is very important.
WHITFIELD: And so lifting over 300 pounds for you is almost like a piece of cake, no big deal. The equivalent of two refrigerators. You never even think of it that way. You see those barbells, but when you think of it in terms of pieces of furniture or kitchen appliances, that's pretty serious business.
HAWORTH: Yeah, when you think of it in those terms, but it's very technical sport, and you know, just you train so hard and you do it so much every day, you know, you just -- you don't necessarily take it for granted, but you don't think about it as you would if you're just walking in there for the first time. But it is a lot of weight, and trust me, it feels heavy a lot of times. So luckily right now, I don't have any injuries. I'm feeling pretty good, so it's OK. I can handle it.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, well, even before the Sydney games, you were quite the celebrity there in your home town of Savannah, and then catapulted to stardom, and now you're very much a role model as well. How are you finding that this is a great responsibility that you hold as being a champion weightlifter, a high-profile athlete, and so many young people are looking up to you. Are you hearing the stories or are you seeing how inspiring you are to so many young girls who are saying, you know, I'm thinking about weightlifting now?
HAWORTH: Yeah, well, it's really great, especially the opportunity to inspire other people to do what you're doing. And what I do is -- it brings me so much joy and I have the opportunity to travel all around the world. So you know, in that sense, letting people become inspired and feel like they can do what I'm doing is a really great feeling, and you just have to be yourself and relax. And I stay focused on what I need to do as far as competing and things like that, and you know, it's really great. It's a good feeling. It is a good feeling. You just have to maintain your strength and your integrity and keep going.
WHITFIELD: All right, so, Cheryl, I understand you've got a bit of equipment there with you and as you embark upon your journey...
HAWORTH: I got a little bit.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, yeah, OK. What do you have there, by the way?
HAWORTH: It's 45 kilos. How many pounds is that -- 99 pounds.
WHITFIELD: OK.
HAWORTH: Not very much in relationship to what I can lift.
WHITFIELD: Are you going to show us some techniques there, the right thing to do?
HAWORTH: Yeah.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll let you do your thing.
(CROSSTALK)
HAWORTH: My earpiece might fall out or something crazy, but I think it'll be OK.
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Well, we don't want to impair your abilities.
HAWORTH: No, it's OK. This is the snatch, which is the first lift in the entire competition. You get three chances to do as much as you can do. It is a very quick movement. From the floor straight over your head.
WHITFIELD: OK.
HAWORTH: And the next one is a clean and jerk. It's less technical, but you tend to lift a lot more weight in clean and jerk than you do in the snatch. It's a two-movement lift. To the chest, over your head.
WHITFIELD: Wow. That's so beautiful and so smooth (ph), so it really...
HAWORTH: I did lose my mike. Oh, oh, got it. Got it.
WHITFIELD: OK, can you hear me now? Yeah, that was so beautifully smooth.
HAWORTH: Yeah. WHITFIELD: So you know, it's as much a part of your shoulder and arm work as it is your legs, as well, isn't it?
HAWORTH: Well, actually it might surprise you, 85 percent of what we do is based on leg strength. Other probably up until 95 percent your back, 5 percent maybe arms and shoulders.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Wow. So you really try...
HAWORTH: It's really -- it's really a whole body thing, you know.
WHITFIELD: You begin to embark on -- is it Warsaw, Poland, next month, your competition?
HAWORTH: Yeah, Warsaw, Poland.
WHITFIELD: OK. And you said -- are those going to be the two techniques that you'll be competing in, and what's the weight that you're likely going to be pushing for?
HAWORTH: Well, in the snatch, hopefully I might get to 130, 132 kilo range. That's about 290 pounds, 295, almost 300 pounds in the snatch, the first one that I did. The second one, I might do -- if I'm having a really good day, 162.5 or 165 kilos, which will tie the world record in my weight class, and that is roughly about 360, 365 pounds.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Well, best of luck to you, and Cheryl Haworth, already the strongest 19-year-old woman in the world, soon to perhaps be the strongest woman no matter what the age bracket. So good luck to you in Warsaw, Poland next month.
HAWORTH: Thanks a lot. Take care.
WHITFIELD: And thanks for being with us. I appreciate it.
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