Sarah Robles

Sarah Elizabeth Robles (born August 1, 1988) is an American weightlifter. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and earned a bronze medal in weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first US athlete to medal in Olympic weightlifting in 16 years. She is a Mormon[1] and is of Mexican ancestry.[2]

Sarah Robles
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1988-08-01) August 1, 1988
Height1.7907 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight140 kg (309 lb)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWeightlifting
Event(s)+75kg
ClubTeam Houston
Coached byTim Swords
Achievements and titles
National finalsThree time national champion
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro+75 kg
World Championships
2017 Anaheim+90 kg
Pan American Games
2019 Lima +87 kg

Athletic career

Growing up in Desert Hot Springs, California, Robles competed in throwing events at San Jacinto High School in San Jacinto, CA. She became a top-ranked shot putter, earning scholarships to the University of Alabama and Arizona State University.[3] As part of her shot put training at a local Arizona gym under coach Joe Micela, she began doing Olympic-style lifts in 2008. That same year, after only three months of weightlifting, Robles qualified for nationals and stopped competing in shot put, losing her scholarship in the process.[3] She won the silver medal at a 2010 Pan American competition and is a three time national champion.[4] At the 2011 World Championships, she finished in eleventh place in her weight class but first place among American women weightlifters. Robles qualified as one of two American women to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[3][5]

Despite being the highest-ranked weightlifter in the United States, Robles lived on less than $400 a month leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[3] Commentators have suggested that this was the result both of the lack of popular attention to the sport of weightlifting, as well as Robles and other women in the sport having larger body types than those of women athletes traditionally portrayed in mass media. Robles has been quoted as saying that, "You can get that sponsorship if you're a super-built guy or a girl who looks good in a bikini. But not if you're a girl who's built like a guy."[3] As of July 16, 2012, a company called Solve Media was sponsoring her.[6]

Robles has a deformity in her arm known as Madelung's deformity, which results in a radius that is shorter than normal and bowed. The deformity leads to significant pain during lifts, and Robles treats the pain with wrist wraps and warming creams.[7]

After Robles failed her drug test on June 29, 2013 and then was suspended on August 8, 2013, she was then sanctioned by the International Weightlifting Federation for two years, that is, until August 8, 2015.[8] On her blog, she claims that: "many have mistakenly said Robles also tested positive for testosterone and pregnanediol when she did not—testosterone and pregnanediol are both metabolites of DHEA,"[9] a claim which is supported by the contemporary news reports: Robles failed her drug test on June 29, at the end of the 2013 Pan American Championships, for testing positive for Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA.[10][11]

In response to questions about her positive drug test result, Sarah's official website cites medical reasons for her need to take DHEA. She says, "My doctor and I worked together to try different treatment options for my PCOS, as a preventative measure. Because my progesterone and DHEA levels are naturally quite low because of PCOS, my doctor felt that supplementing with DHEA would help balance things out in my system. We did not feel that bringing my DHEA to a normal level would be contradictory to my stance as a clean athlete." [12] Robles's official web site does not mention any application for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) prior to the positive tests, and although she states that she acted on the advice of her doctor when taking this medication to treat poly-cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), her appeal of the suspension for medical reasons was denied.[13]

2016 Summer Olympics

On August 14, 2016 Robles won the bronze medal in Weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's +75 kg with a snatch of 126 kilograms (278 lb) and a clean and jerk of 160 kilograms (353 lb) for a total of 286 kilograms (631 lb).[14] She was the first athlete from the United States to win a medal in Olympic weightlifting since the 2000 Summer Olympics.[14]

References
  1. Brown, Brandon (25 July 2012). "Mormon athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London". Deseret News. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  2. "Rio-bound weightlifter Sarah Robles hopes to inspire Hispanics to try Olympic sports". Fox New Latino. EFE. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  3. Testa, Jessica. "The Strongest Woman in America Lives in Poverty". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  4. Johnson, Sanda. "Meet 2012 Weightlifting Olympian Sarah Robles". Yahoo News. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  5. "Sarah Robles". United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  6. Shen, Aviva. "VICTORY: Olympic Weightlifter Sarah Robles Gets A Sponsor". ThinkProgress. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  7. Schrager, Peter (24 May 2012). "Nothing's Going to Stop Me". Fox Sports. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  8. "Weightlifter Sarah Robles Suspended For Two Years After Testing Positive For Doping!". Perez Hilton. December 13, 2013.
  9. "About Sarha Robles". SarahLiftsHeavy.com. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  10. Testa, Jessica. "Top U.S. Female Weightlifter Suspended For Doping While Treating Hormone Imbalance". BuzzFeed News.
  11. Micela, Joe (December 12, 2013). "Official Statement in Regards to Sarah Robles". PerormanceOne.net.
  12. "Addressing the consequences of a difficult choice". Sarah Robles' Official blog. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  13. Steele, Allan (17 December 2013). "OLYMPICS: San Jacinto weightlifter Robles suspended for failed drug test". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  14. Quin, Danny (August 14, 2016). "Weightlifting results: Meng Suping wins gold, USA's Sarah Robles earns bronze". NBC News.
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