Adam Jarski won the junior nationals in Olympic weightlifting before even stepping foot into his first college class.
“I originally didn’t want to do weightlifting, but it’s changed my life,” he said. “It’s one of the best decisions I ever made.”
It all began two years ago when Jarski was looking for a sport to do during football’s off season. He qualified for the junior national championships within his first year of weightlifting. It was his junior year of high school so he chose to delay the competition for a year in order to finish out the football season. Jarski took the competitive stage on June 29th, 2023 in Colorado Springs, CO.
“There was a lot of pressure, but then I just got out on the platform and performed,” he said. “It was a great experience.”
Winning the competition solidified his decision to pursue weightlifting over football, helping ease the transition into college.
“I loved playing football, it was great, but I fell in love with weightlifting,” he said. “I felt okay with hanging up the cleats after my last game. Now I have something else to pursue.”
He’s now in his first year at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities studying physics as an Honors student.
Instead of running drills on the field, Jarski has daily time carved out to hit the weights in RecWell. He works with the same coach he started with in high school, who now sends him weekly plans and makes adjustments to fit with his demanding school schedule.
“I have one to two hours allotted every day [to train],” he said. “I try to get done with my last class, go to the gym, then spend the rest of the night studying.”
The discipline from weightlifting translates well to the skills he needs to be succssful in the classroom.
“With weightlifting you have to be a perfectionist to really excel,” he said. “It’s the same for school work; I could pass with a B, but why? I want to get an A.”
Jarski is grateful he took the risk in trying a new sport and strives to get “one percent better” every day.
“Anyone who is thinking of trying something new like a sport, just try it,” he said. “It would have been so easy to just say no to weightlifting, but I tried it and fell in love with it.”
Jarski will return to competition and defend his junior national champion title with USA Weightlifting in June 2024.