

ServicesUniversity, has competed in several Sara Contente, a research associate in the She thought to herself, “What am I doing here? Am I crazy, or what?”ĭr. It was somewhat overwhelming and stressful, crowded with lots of people and busy with noise and bright lights. Later that year, Contente entered her first local competition. With either maneuver, during a competition, lifters must ultimately keep the barbell in the air until the referees give the signal to place the barbell back on the ground, and earn points on their style and technique. For the clean and jerk, the lifter moves the barbell up to his or her shoulders, resting the barbell on the clavicles before pressing it into the air. She continued to watch her diet and trained diligently several times each week, perfecting the barbell movements referred to as the “snatch” and “clean and jerk.” The snatch involves gripping the barbell with two hands, palms downwards, maneuvering the barbell into the air in a single movement. In May 2017, Contente decided to start training for Olympic weightlifting. “I wanted to do better and I wanted to keep getting stronger,” she said. “It’s not just brute strength - there’s technique and skill involved, too,” Contente said.Īs time went on, she did grow stronger – and the stronger she became, the more she wanted to achieve. So, Contente decided to try her hand at using the weights, which meant having to take special training to use them safely and appropriately. In 2017, the facility added a barbell club. Sara Contente has been working in the Department of Pathology at Uniformed Services University since 1986. Plus, Contente figured she could convince her husband to give it a try, too, and they could all push each other to be more physically fit.ĭr. She had seen her daughter gain strength using the same type of fitness facility. Outside of researching how gene expression controls cell growth while keeping busy representing the University’s faculty, in her spare time Contente had decided to check out a local fitness facility known for its high-intensity interval training and large-scale fitness competitions. She has been involved with USU’s Faculty Senate since 2009, and served as the former USU Faculty Senate President from 2018 to 2019. She never thought she would end up competing in several national weightlifting competitions - let alone win a Masters World Championship, as she did this summer.Ĭontente has been a research associate professor in the Department of Pathology at Uniformed Services University (USU) since 1986. Sara Contente signed up for a membership at a local strength and conditioning facility in 2013, she just wanted to become stronger, physically, and perhaps motivate her husband to get into better shape. USU’s Sara Contente Competes, Wins Master Weightlifting Competition
