Many of you have never heard the names of our legendary US weightlifters from 30 to 40 years ago. Hell, most of you probably don’t know who our best lifters were eight years ago. And that’s a shame, because you’re missing out on some incredible accomplishments from our sport’s past.

Brian Derwin has legitimate legend status in this country’s Olympic weightlifting history. It started with his meteoric rise to the top in 1980, when he won Best Lifter at the US Olympic Trials with a 155 kg snatch and 207.5 kg clean and jerk in the old 100 kg weight class. Brian was named to the 1980 Olympic Team, but his career as an athlete ended just a year later after a severe elbow injury in 1981. After his time on the platform was finished, he decided to take his contributions to the sport into the coaching business, where he spent decades as one of the most successful and respected coaches in the United States, producing multiple National Champions and World Team members.

In 1996, Brian was elected USAW President. His background as an athlete and coach gave him a sharp understanding of the elite athlete’s needs, so he made the bold move to devote a significant portion of the USAW budget to athlete payments. Prior to his presidency, there was almost no money available to US weightlifters. The prospect of giving money to our weightlifters was a huge one, but Brian knew that’s what we needed. The payoff of his decision was immediate, as Tara Nott, Cheryl Haworth, and Wes Barnett scored medals at the World Championships and Olympics in the late 90s and 2000s. Fortunately, our federation has followed his lead and continued the system of athlete stipends to this day, working hard to make sure our finest weightlifters have the financial help they need.

Brian was an old school lifter who made it to the top through sheer grit and determination, and his continued contributions to our sport throughout the last three decades have provided better coaching and training conditions to countless US lifters. He is one of the pillars of American weightlifting, and I am honored to share his story with you.

Tell us about your background. Where are you from, where do you currently live, what’s your occupation, family life, what kind of sports background do you have outside of lifting, etc. 

I now live in Minnesota but grew up in north New Jersey, about 15 minutes from the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey. I attended Cresskill High School and played football (wore a LEATHER helmet the first 2 years) and threw the shot all 4 years. After that, I graduated from Lehigh University in 1973. At Lehigh, I played football, did the shot put and graduated with a BA in History. Most recently, I worked for Beckman Coulter selling Hematology Analyzers to Hospitals in a 3-state region. I retired in March of 2019.

Describe your weightlifting history. When/how did you start? Who were your coaches? What were your proudest accomplishments as either an athlete or coach?

As an Athlete

It all started when we formed a weight training club in high school. The workouts were closer to body building than weightlifting.  For example, the three co-captains (of which I was one) had our first workout after our junior year football season and our biceps were so sore we could hardly carry our books to class!!  For two years at Lehigh, I did back squats and bench presses. In my junior year, I read an article in Track and Field news about how Al Feurbach and Mac Wilkins did weightlifting for six months of the year in East Germany. I was fortunate that John Garhammer was doing graduate work at Lehigh and was kind enough to teach me the lifts. We had an intramural weightlifting contest and one other athlete, and I went lift for lift and I won. I was HOOKED on weightlifting from that point forward.  Later in the year, John took me to my first two contests in the spring of my Senior year.

Once I graduated from Lehigh, I was on my own in my garage or a YMCA. Being my own coach and athlete was terrible. I went to a contest in southern New Jersey and the coach of Belleville Barbell, Bucky Cairo, suggested I come down and train with them. I jumped at the chance and never regretted it. Bucky and I worked on correcting two major flaws in my technique and after six months, we put about 40 kg on my total! Bucky was integral to my success.

My biggest accomplishment was winning the Nationals in 1980 and making the Olympic Team and getting the Best Lifter award. Bucky and I planned our strategy one year before the Trials. We knew our strength was the C+J. The goal was to stay close in the SN and hopefully cause the other folks to get greedy with their SN results. This plan worked to this point. In the C+J, we wanted to have the highest start, build on that, and have the last C+J to decide the winner. The plan worked and I set 5 PRs. Our plan worked! Bucky Cairo was crucial to this success.

As a Coach

I retired from lifting after blowing an elbow in the 1981 Nationals. I was completely removed from weightlifting for about two years. I started to train a bit at the YMCA in St. Paul and one of the younger lifters, Bob Jones, asked if I would coach him. I agreed and my coaching career was started. Some years later, Bob Jones made the World Team and placed 10^th in the 110 kg class. Keep in mind that this was still the time that USAW did not do athlete support. So, much like when I trained, it was Bob Jones and Brian Derwin Versus the Soviet Union and their satelites. Additionally, Decia Stenzel made several World Teams and placed well each time. Again, it was Decia Stenzel and Brian Derwin versus the Soviet Union, their satellites, and China. Certainly, placing athletes on World Teams were my high points as a coach.

You’ve made the transition from athlete to coach/administrator in the sport.  What are the similarities and differences between those two lifestyles?

The difference between coach and athlete became apparent to me when Bob Jones was lifting in the National Junior Olympics. Walking around in the warmup area, I could feel my adrenaline rise. I was preparing like an athlete and I had to stifle that so I could remain calm. I needed to be more like paint drying on the wall so I could be alerted to changes and help keep my athlete calm. Coaching is not about me; it is about the athlete!

I was elected President of USAW for the quad 1996-2000. At our first Board of Directors meeting, we made some dramatic changes. For athletes that made essentially World Championship A session totals, we paid them a base of $19,000 per year plus incentives. One-year, Cheryl Haworth made $53,000 a year as a junior. The qualifying totals were challenging, but the first year we had a full team of women at the Worlds. 10% of our USAW budget went into athlete pockets and we focused on a small number of events per year. It was challenging to stay calm and focused when some coaches went berserk over this. Go figure!! One year they tried to impeach our athlete reps and it failed. In fact, Decia Stenzel voted for the higher totals and it essentially eliminated her from World Teams. The next year they tried to impeach me, and it failed. Interestingly, two of the noisiest detractors came up to me after the four-year term and said, “You were right, and we were wrong.”  We got the job done, but it sure took a lot of the joy out of the sport.

Describe some of the obstacles you’ve faced, as both a competitor and administrator.  What kinds of changes would you like to continue see in our sport?

Competitor Obstacles

While training, I worked for 3M, which was a full-time job. Training took place in the evening and it took 30 minutes to drive home. There really was little time for a social life. One example of this is a contest in Allentown, PA that was a US versus Canada contest. Of the 13 lifters from the US, 12 were getting divorced or going through breakups. I found that to be the most difficult obstacle. I remember reading one article about an Iron Curtain where the athlete trained all day and then spent time with his family. Our model was: we worked a job all day and trained at night.

Administrator Obstacles

When we refocused USAW direction to achieving medals in the World Championships and Olympic Games, some folks felt threatened and fought against it tooth and nail. The reward was USA achieving a gold and a bronze at the 2000 Olympics by Nott and Haworth!!

A constant obstacle was the fight to clean up the sport. I remember Wes Barnett achieved a Bronze in the C+J at the 1997 Worlds (220 kg). None of the other international competitors believed he was clean. That told me more about them than Wes.

USA weightlifting has changed a lot from the 1970s. If you had to pick three or the most significant changes you’ve seen throughout your career, what would they be?

1)    Much greater participation. Years ago, the USAW population was about 6,000. Now it is at 30,000. Greater numbers may mean access to more talented athletes.

2)    Now we EXPECT to have medal placements at ALL the World Championships.

3)    These days, many of the national contests have four, five or ix contest platforms. One of the appeals of weightlifting for me was the sense of drama and attention. For 12 seconds or so, I was on show to the audience. Now it looks like a Ford automobile assembly plant.

Who are some of your major influences, people you look up to, etc.? Who are the people you want to thank for your success?

For my lifting career, Bucky Cairo had the most impact. He was instrumental in correcting me technically and always being positive and believable. I had complete trust in him at a contest.

I am also grateful to my teammates at Bellville Barbell for their support. Bruce Klemens always has great sequence photos and individual photos; Bill McKeon was able to loosen tight muscles and Ray Lavender was a great training partner.  For example, at the 1980 Trials/Nationals, I did not have to load my own bar. Just gave them the amount I wanted, and my BBC teammates loaded the bar. Awesome!!

Harvey Newton has been incredibly helpful to my coaching as a resource and confidant. I have used him as a sounding board and advisor. His insight has always been helpful!

I think I can speak for the entire federation when I say THANK YOU for all you’ve done for this sport, Brian. You’re the real deal, and we wish you all the best.