In the late 1800s, women were only allowed to compete in some sports. In 1900, women were approved to play in the Summer Olympics, and Charlotte Cooper was the first woman to win a gold medal, receiving the top recognition for tennis.
Women have come a long way since 1900. More than half of the gold medals from the past Summer Olympics went to females and there are many accomplished female athletes covering the globe, such as Serena Williams, Caitlin Clark and Simone Biles.
These athletes are arguably as good, or better, than some male athletes. For the GHS powerlifting team, the number of powerlifters has increased exponentially over the past few years. The female population has been expanding and their success is accelerating.
“It used to be a really male-dominated sport and the female side of the sport has grown significantly,” Head Coach Alise Pape said.
The increase of females in the sport can have its uphill moments and downhill ones, similar to how the powerlifters can view each other as either teammates or competitors. Some of the girls feel slightly threatened by the idea of competing with stronger girls to get the better position. That can also drive these girls to lift more, knowing they have a higher position to fight for. At the end of the day, these lifters know to support each other.
“The best part is (the girls) because they’re so together and it’s not clicky,” sophomore Andie Yost said. “Everyone is cheering each other on (when) we’re like interacting with each other.”
Despite the slight competition with the team, they follow the fine “High School Musical” motto and are “all in this together.” Cheering and encouraging each other will cause greater success in the athlete and the team.
“The best part is cheering on other teammates and seeing your own success as well as the team’s success,” junior Sophie Gibbons said.
Sometimes the greatest success is not what you have worked hard for but what you see others work hard for and knowing that you may have helped them achieve that success. This team includes everyone who wants to join on any level of lifting they are at.
The lifters may get to experience the joy of winning a medal, becoming stronger or helping out their teammate, but the coaches get to see success every day in the weight room, and they get the joy of knowing they played a part in it. Coach Pape said that she helps each athlete work to their fullest potential no matter what stage of lifting they fall under.
Even with the growing number of girls joining powerlifting, there are still girls who worry they will get the wrong image about getting involved. The body image that many girls want isn’t always what they think will be the result of powerlifting, which is a false rumor.
“Strength building is often going to build that physique that female athletes are looking for, and it’s going to give them that sense of confidence that being strong makes you feel capable in a way that just like saying, working out to take care of your body could never do,” Coach Pape said.
