Spencer Moorman, 18, of San Jacinto, lifts under the watchful eye of coach Greg Schouten. Moorman is part of the U.S. team for the World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Bulgaria.
Last month in Norwalk, 18-year-old Spencer Moorman threw a shot put 62 feet, 5¼ -inches at the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section's Division 2 finals, breaking a 31-year-old record for shot put distance set by a San Jacinto High school teammate of his father, Keith Moorman.
Since then, Moorman has crammed in competing in the statewide CIF meet, visiting Disneyland with relatives and singing with his twin sister, Katie, in the San Jacinto High choral group at their graduation Thursday.
He hasn't had much time to celebrate. He and Katie, both competitive weightlifters, are back in the weight room of trainer Greg Schouten in San Jacinto this week, with four sessions left before Spencer Moorman heads to Sofia, Bulgaria, on Tuesday as part of the U.S. team for the World Junior Weightlifting Championships. He competes June 20.
Growing up in the valley, Schouten competed in the Pan Am games and was the first alternate on the 1996 U.S. Olympics weightlifting team.
"He is kind of on the same track that I was at that age group," Schouten said of Moorman.
Moorman competed in the Pan Am games in Peru in 2008. He will take this expense-paid trip with the team while his family stays home.
Athlete and trainer agree, lifting is 85 to 95 percent mental -- visualizing a successful lift. Training lasts about three hours, four to five times a week.
In February, the Moorman twins competed in the USA Weightlifting National Junior Championships in Rochester, Minn. That competition earned Spencer Moorman a gold medal and a spot on the team headed to Bulgaria. He has earned two other golds, a silver and a bronze in previous competition.
Katie Moorman has won four silver medals and one bronze in lifting, and is training for collegiate competitions.
Their father, Keith, commutes to teach in Malibu, but is a frequent coach in the weight room too.
Spencer started lifting at age 8, when the family lived in Colorado. He said he was influenced by watching his dad lift weights and seeing the "big lifters" at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs.
His personal best is 180 kilos -- about 396 pounds -- in the clean and jerk, where the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then above his head, and 147 kilos -- just over 323 pounds -- in the snatch, where the barbell is lifted overhead in one motion.
This summer the twins are looking at colleges with weightlifting programs.
With about 22 months to the 2012 Olympic trials, mom Kristene Moorman said, "His choice might be to train for the Olympics."
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