Piece of the Platform – Volume 1
Welcome to piece of the platform. As Athletes ourselves and as Technical Officials, we’re really lucky that we get to spend time with, know, work or train alongside some really fantastic people from within the weightlifting community. We’re even luckier still that some of those people have agreed to a take part in our mini interviews, that we’ve coined ‘Piece of the Platform’.
We’ve reached out to Coaches, Technical Officials, BWL staff, Athletes and volunteers, and we’ve asked them all some variation of the same 4 questions. The answers we’ve had back have been inspiring, funny, helpful and thought provoking – so we’ve collated them here, as an addendum to the learning resources, to pool that collective knowledge and advice in the hope that you’ll enjoy reading them just as much as we did.
Volume 1: Mikey Glenn – Co-Owner London Olympic Weightlifting Academy, Head Coach, Athlete.
We asked Mikey a couple of questions and he was lovely enough to give us these answers below. If you fancy knowing more about Mikey or his club, Team LOWA follow the links below;
@small_mikey_lifts_things
@TeamLOWA
https://teamlowa-vauxhall.com/
What’s your favourite thing about weightlifting as both a coach and an athlete?
As an athlete: Weightlifting is an anchor for me, I really got into the sport when I first got sober from drug & alcohol problems in my late teens/early-twenties. I just really like hanging out with people and throwing a bar around at the same time. I also really really love hang snatch.
As a coach: Giving people a sport that becomes a massive part of their lives. Small moments like when someone hits an unexpected PB are also massive.
What one piece of advice would you give to athletes about competition?
Don’t rush the first pull just because you’re excited hen!
What do you think BWL and the Technical Officials do well, and what could we do better?
BWL: I think there should be more experimentation with the format of the sport. Comps have far too much time where nothing is happening. Cricket do this really well and they’re a very old/stuffy sport. I think the major championships tend to be run well on the day though.
TOs themselves do a great job, the rules of the sport are holding it back in my opinion
If you could ask your favourite lifter one question, who are they and what would that be?
Yenny Alvarez – how do I get abs like yours?