Lots of weightlifters have interesting back stories and colorful journeys, but I don’t think I’ve heard many that can compare with the life of Mattie Sasser. How often have you known of a lifter who starts her career on a tiny island near the equator in the Pacific Ocean and eventually winds up living in Chicago and representing Team USA?
 
I have to confess something. Mattie is the only reason I know anything about the Marshall Islands. That’s where she’s from, you see. The total land area of the island she was born and raised on is 5.8 square miles, and it’s 6,474 miles from where she lives and trains now. The Marshall Islands are a United States associated state, which gives its residents dual citizenship with the US That’s what has allowed Mattie to join our national program.
 
She was a 2016 Olympian for Marshall Islands before relocating to the US later that same year, and she’s currently one of our top international lifters. Most recently, she was a bronze medalist for Team USA at the Pan American Championships in the 64 kg class with a 98 kg snatch and an American record 129 kg clean and jerk. She has her eyes locked in on qualifying for the 2020 Games, which would make her a two-time Olympian for two different nations if she’s able to pull it off.
 
Mattie is one of the best female lifters in the United States, and as you’ll see in this interview, her personality is as bright as her platform accomplishments. The Performance Menu is honored to share her story with you.
 
Tell us about your background. Where are you from?
 
I was born and raised on Mili Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. I moved to the capitol island of Majuro Atoll when I was 14. I relocated to the United States when I was 21. I believe that the difficulties and logistical challenges of living in a remote location really shaped my character and work ethic. I am very grateful that my life began in the Marshall Islands. I now live in the US and have made it a priority to assimilate to my new home. My parents raised me to understand and appreciate both Marshallese and US cultures; however, making the adjustment to life in the US has still been challenging, but I am managing it.
 
Where do you currently live?
 
I am currently living in Grayslake, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago. I train at A3 Performance weightlifting gym.
 
What’s your occupation?
 
I am a student at College of Lake County. I am also a full-time weightlifter for Team USA.
 
Family life?
 
This has probably been the most difficult part for me as I have made the transition to live in the United States because I have never lived so far away from my family. My mother and father still live in the Marshall Islands. I am able to Skype with them regularly and visit on holidays. They continue to be a source of encouragement. My grandmother, auntie, cousins and three of my siblings live in Kansas City, Missouri. I am very grateful for my new family away from home: Coach Dave Ester and Mr. Mike Gattone of USAW, and the other lifters here at A3 Performance; everyone has been so helpful. I also want to recognize Casey Knuth and Danielle Colan, who have helped me in so many ways as if I was their own family member.
 
What kind of sports background do you have outside of lifting?
 
After moving to the capitol island of Majuro Atoll when I was in high school, I joined the athletics team, training as a sprinter in the 100m, 200m and relays. I also competed in community indoor and beach volleyball leagues. And, of course, I love to swim, and I love the ocean. I specialized in the sport of weightlifting when I was about 16.
 
Describe your weightlifting history. When/how did you start?
 
I am a dual citizen of USA and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. My dad, Terry Sasser, is the national coach for weightlifting and also the Secretary General of the Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee. He invited me to come and try weightlifting, but it wasn’t until some of the other weightlifters invited me that I got the nerve to try it. My dad remembers the story better than I do, but he says that the first time I came into the weightlifting gym, I was warming up with the lifters before practice and as he was walking in, I managed to clean and jerk 50kg. From that day on, I was pretty much up at 5:30 every morning to practice before school and then back at the gym in the evening for another training session. The gym was only ¼ mile from my house, so that made it easy to get to practice.
 
Everyone was training for the 2012 Oceania Championships in Samoa. There are some funny stories from my first international competition. I was 15 years old and had been training for a few months. It was my first time in an airplane and first time outside of the Marshall Islands. We transited through Hawaii and Dad had us train at the YMCA, where we met weightlifting legend Tommy Kono. We landed in Samoa and my weigh-in was fine. When we got to the warm up room, there was so much crazy energy happening. I looked out into the auditorium and saw the most people I had ever seen in one place watching the competition. That’s when I started to get really nervous.
 
As I warmed up, I felt like everything was good. My first snatch was going to be 50kg. They called my name and I realized I was going to have to walk out onto that stage and lift in front of all those people. Men with video cameras were right in front of me and I started to freak out. My dad stood next to me and I remember his mouth moving, but I didn’t hear anything he said. He said it was time for me to go out when the clock was under a minute, but I felt frozen. After the 30 second clock went off, he started to push me out. I could have probably snatched 70kg, I pulled so hard that I over-pulled and the bar literally flew over my head and I landed with nothing in my hands. Dad took me back to the training room and tried to calm me down, but I went out and did the same thing with the second lift. Finally, on the third lift, I had settled a little bit more and the music was thumping and there was great energy in the building. I walked out and grabbed the bar and right as I pulled, the DJ turned the volume way up and I missed the lift again! I thought I had bombed my first competition. My dad looked at the jury, who allowed me one more lift, which I completed. After that, my dad took me outside and sat me under a coconut tree, trying to get me to relax before the clean and jerk part of the competition. I came back and got all three of my clean and jerks. I managed to win the gold in the youth competition, beating Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. I was really surprised that I also took bronze in the junior competition. My first time standing on the podium was such a proud moment for me, and I guess that is where my addiction to weightlifting started.
 
Following lifters on social media, meeting them in person at the American Open and becoming friends with some of them is perhaps what started me thinking about competing for USA. When I lifted at the American Open in Reno as a junior and broke some USA records, the announcer stated that they would not be recorded as I was not registered for USA. I didn’t think much about it at that time, as I was focused on trying to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games. It wasn’t until after I qualified, competed in Rio and returned home to the Marshall Islands that I started having this conversation with my coach/dad. I remember that he gave me a list of pros and cons and we met with the Marshall Islands Weightlifting Federation, who were very supportive of my decision. I will always be grateful for their support and the opportunities they gave me through the years.
                       
Who have your coaches been?
 
My dad was my coach from day one until January 2018 when I moved to the US. My primary coach is now David Ester. I am very fortunate to have this great opportunity through USA Weightlifting.
 
What are your proudest accomplishments?
 
Qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games would certainly be one of the highlights.
Leading up to the Rio Games, as a junior lifter, I won the senior competition at the Oceania Championships, breaking the Oceania junior and senior records and standing on top of the podium holding the Marshall Islands flag. I think I also won MVP for junior and senior. After I stepped off the podium, I jumped off the stage and into my dad’s arms, almost knocking him down! We were both in tears! It was especially exciting that IWF President Dr. Tamas Ajan and the other IWF bosses were there to watch the championships.
 
Most recently, I was standing on top of the podium at the Pan American Championships, now holding the USA flag. Wow, what an amazing feeling that was!
 
While these are my proudest sports accomplishments, I think my best accomplishment is the daily journey toward becoming a better person. I have battled through a lot of challenges in my life, but with continued support from my parents and family and the strength my faith gives me, this is an ongoing journey. If you ask me again in five years, graduating from college will definitely be toward the top of the list.
 
Please give a basic description of your training method. Just tell us as much as you can about your program, weekly/yearly planning, etc.
 
In Marshall Islands, I grew up in the sport with a mix of Bulgarian and Chinese training styles. This requires a lot of time, with both morning and evening practices, at least 10 sessions per week. Training was usually four different lifts per session; reps are low with a gradual build of volume, load and intensity.
 
Since I’ve moved to the US and been training at A3 Performance, my program consists of five days of training a week for about three hours per day. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are all high-volume training days. Friday is a lower volume day and Saturday is the heaviest day of the week. A3 Performance’s training philosophy is a mix of German and Soviet training weightlifting systems, which use a moderate amount of variations of the competitive lifts as test for the Olympic lifts. When we are far away from competition, the volume is high, intensity lower and the exercise selection is more strength focused. As we get closer to competition, the intensity goes up, the volume comes down and the exercise selection gets more specific to the competition lifts. I asked my coach David Ester to sum it up and he said, “Due to the fact that Mattie is an elite athlete and a highly efficient lifter, we have narrowed down her program to specifically target what she needs to improve, while still allowing her the ability to adequately recover.”
 
Describe some of the obstacles you face, or maybe some things that frustrate you in your weightlifting life. What kinds of changes would you like to see, either personally or with the sport in general?
 
Where do I start? It has been such a journey with much sacrifice. Probably the biggest frustration is trying to find a balance between my personal life and my sport. Weightlifting, unlike most other sports, is not seasonal, so you never really get a break. To stay on top, you have to keep training all the time. While everyone was enjoying their weekends, I was either in the gym or recovering. When I lived in the islands, there were not as many choices as there are here in the US, which makes it even more difficult.
 
At this point, my goal is staying healthy and working with my coaches and USAW on a pathway for qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. I’m preparing myself, both physically and mentally, for the Pan American Games in July and the World Championships in September.
 
One of my major frustrations has been all the doping in our sport, but I know that IWF has been making major positive changes. Their new qualification system and aggressive out-of-competition and in-competition testing program should stop many of the athletes who cheat. USADA seems like it is leading the way in this area.
 
Depending on what happens with my Olympic qualification for 2020, I am really trying to put together a plan with my parents to focus on my academics and future career.
 
What are your plans and goals for your weightlifting career? How do you see your future in the sport?
 
I try not to plan too far in advance with weightlifting but rather focus on a day-by-day approach. As long as I can stay healthy and continue to represent the United States with honor and success, as well as balance my personal life and academic direction, only God knows. But I do love the sport and believe it will always have a role in my life.
 
Right now, I am focused on one thing: qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. For that, I have to focus on the qualifying competitions ahead of me and work hard to increase my total with the help of my coaches.
 
Who are some of your major influences, people you look up to, etc.?
 
My dad, who was also my first coach. He has also had a major role in my growth as a person and helping me to see things in different ways. He and my mom have encouraged me every step of the way and inspired me to keep moving forward, whether than involves weightlifting or not.
My grandfather, who raised me in my early years and always believed in me no matter what.
My faith that has never failed me. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Who are the people you want to thank for your success?
 
My Heavenly Father, my parents, my family and friends, both here in the US and in the Marshall Islands. The Marshall Islands Weightlifting Federation and government for supporting my transition to the United States. Phil Andrews for his part in working to make my dream of competing for USA a reality. Mike Gattone, Pyrros Dimas and all the USAW support staff. My coach Dave Ester, A3 Performance staff Casey Knuth and Danielle Golan for their continued support and guidance. All my teammates at A3 Performance and Team USA, and all of the new friends I’ve made.
 
We’re lucky to have you here, Mattie. You’ve been a wonderful addition to our national program, and we wish you all the best luck in the world for your future both on and off the platform.