Through a strength athlete’s career, it’s likely they’ll partake in multiple forms of lifting as they learn and grow. For example, it’s common to see weightlifters excel in CrossFit® competition due to similar movements in each sport, and vice versa. One of these aforementioned athletes is none other than the Fittest Man On Earth™, Mat Fraser.
Before Fraser became a dominate force in CrossFit, his formal strength sports career started as a weightlifter. We found a few clips from his previous weightlifting focused career.
The video below is from the 2012 USA Weightlifting Senior National Championships, where Fraser competed in the 85kg weight class.
In the clip, you see Fraser attempting a 132kg snatch for his second and third lift. Fraser finished eighth in this competition with a 296kg total, which was 58kg behind first held by three-time Olympian Kendrick Farris (355kg total).
There’s no question that Fraser’s weightlifting background has helped him truly excel in CrossFit. Think back to workout 17.3 (the snatch ladder) of this year’s CrossFit Open. Fraser absolutely dominated the workout in the CrossFit live feed, and ended up remaining in first for the whole workout’s duration.
Fraser started training in weightlifting formally around age 12. He was a Junior National Champion in 2009 and a resident athlete at the Olympic Education Center from 2010-2011. Check out the clip below of him snatching 130kg at the 2011 American Open.
So what sparked this article about Fraser’s previous weightlifting career? In the last few weeks, an Instagram page was created titled Snatchin’ Snacks. This page features some of weightlifting and CrossFit’s top athletes performing Olympic lifts…but with snacks as plates. Check out the video below of Fraser snatching lollipops.
In all honesty, I don’t think there could be a more fitting food for Fraser’s lift. Check out the part where he sticks his tongue out as he catches the lollipops overhead.
Feature image screenshot from Ian Wilson YouTube channel.
