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Vang deadlifting at Junior Worlds with Club Powerlifting alumnus Brooks Conway coaching him.

College of Education student James Vang came home ranked fourth in the world in his age group and weight class after competing in the International Powerlifting Federation’s Junior World Championships in Killeen, Texas.

Vang, a junior from Bethlehem majoring in health and physical education, placed fourth in the 20-23 year-old age group and 145-pound weight class in his international debut for the U.S. National Powerlifting Team at the Aug 26-Sept. 1 event.

Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press and deadlift. The squat is a weightlifting exercise in which one squats and stands while holding a weighted barbell supported by the back of the shoulders. The bench press is an exercise in which one lays on his or her back, lowers a weight to chest level, and then pushes it back up until the arms are straight. The deadlift is an exercise in which one lifts a loaded barbell off the ground from a stabilized, bent over position.

A native of Appleton, Wis., Vang has only been lifting for about two years at UGA. In the competition, which drew lifters from 32 countries around the world, Vang was not only representing Wisconsin and UGA, but also the Hmong-American people.

“Being able to lift on the team as the first generation of Hmong people is a stepping stone not only for me in the sport, but also for Hmong-Americans as a whole,” he said.

Vang bench pressed 369 pounds, deadlifted 545 pounds and finished with 573 pounds on the squats for a total of 1,488 pounds.

“James appears to bring the same dedication to his powerlifting that he does to the classroom,”
said Bryan McCullick, professor and coordinator of the physical education program in the department of kinesiology.

Vang made the U.S. National Powerlifting Team by competing and being at the top of his weight class in two national meets.

But how did he become interested in powerlifting?

“I was always a lifter at heart, but just didn’t have any connections with anyone who knew about powerlifting. When powerlifting comes to mind many people think of the Olympics, but the Olympic lifts and Powerlifts are two totally different cultures,” said Vang.

In December 2011, Club Powerlifting at UGA held the Strongest Dawg competition which featured the squat, bench press and deadlift.

“I didn’t know what the deadlift was at first, but since it consisted of the bench and squat, I decided why not learn the deadlift as well and compete in it,” said Vang. “After two or three months of training for that meet at UGA, I won and met Mark Freeman, who is a UGA graduate student and head coach / president of the UGA Powerlifting Club.

“He guided my entire powerlifting career after that to Collegiate Nationals and I won there. He introduced me to many people who were heavily involved in powerlifting like Sherman Ledford and Brooks Conway,” he said.

After he graduates, Vang said he hopes to coach weightlifting classes at a high school or higher level education environment.