O.P.T.I. Press Release

MURPHY WINS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
SARASOTA’S ROBERT MURPHY REPEATS AS USA WEIGHTLIFTING NATIONAL CHAMPION FOR FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW… QUALIFIES FOR WORLD AND PAN AM TEAMS

(MAY 7, 2005 –Cleveland, Ohio) – Sarasota’s Robert Lee Murphy continued his domination of the 94 kg (207 lb.) weight division as he won his fourth straight National Championship Saturday night at the USA Weightlifting National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio.

Murphy snatched 155kg (341 lb.) and clean and jerked a new personal best 200 kg (440 lb.) to total a personal record 355 kg (781 lb.), beating his nearest competitor by 15 kg (33 lb).

Murphy, a 1997 graduate of Sarasota High School, re-qualified for the U.S. National Team as well as earning a slot on TEAM USA’s Pan Am Championships Squad and Senior World Team. The Pan American Championships will take place in Shreveport, LA June 22-26 and the Worlds are scheduled for November 11-21 in Doha, Quatar.

Murphy lifts for Team Florida Weightlifting, which placed third as a team at the Nationals. Team Florida is a not-for-profit sports club that promotes the drug-free sport of Olympic Weightlifting among Florida’s youth and young adults as a vehicle to help improve their physical, psychological and social well-being.

Team Florida Head Coach Rich Lansky reports that he and Olympic Training Center Resident Coach Paul Fleschler decided to “not go all out at the Nationals, holding back in preparation for a peak at the Pan American Championships in 7 weeks.”

Lansky explained that “USA Weightlifting has, in conjunction with the USOC, set their performance plan to mandate that USA’s top athletes perform their best in international competition this year at the Pan Ams and at the Worlds, and not at domestic competitions like the Nationals and the American Open.”

Lansky, who also serves on the Board of Directors for USA Weightlifting, further explained “With the high performance plan objectives in mind, we skipped Robert’s (Murphy) final clean and jerk, saving even bigger lifts for the Pan Ams in June. We had already won the meet and solidified his overall fourth place ranking in the country as well as his spot on the World team.”

Along with 56 kg national champion Shelton Gilyard of Tampa, Murphy is Team Florida’s most decorated athlete. Murphy presently resides at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Other local athletes competing this weekend for Team Florida included Sarasota resident Lauren Chadwick and Port Charlotte resident Thomas Sherwood. Chadwick placed fifth in the 75 kg class (165 lb.), snatching 75 kg (165 lb.) and jerking a personal best 95 kg (209 lb.) to total a personal best 170 kg (374 lb.) Competing in his first nationals, Sherwood placed 10th, snatching 92.5 kg (203.5 lb.) and jerking 120 kg (264 lb.) to total 212.5 kg (467.5 lb.)

For more information, contact Rich Lansky at 941-780-3209 or by e-mail at coachlansky@sportsperformance.com.