One of the brightest spots of USA weightlifting is the number of talented young athletes we have rising through the ranks. New ones are popping up every month, putting up numbers on the platform that show the potential for serious results in the future.
 
Estelle Rohr is one of the newest ones on the horizon. And if my memory is correct, I think she’s the fourth national-level female lifter I’ve interviewed over the last couple of years who comes from a cheerleading background. As a former NC State cheerleader, Estelle found weightlifting through a trainer who was teaching her the lifts to improve her tumbling and base strength. As we’ve read so many times in the past, one thing led to another. She discovered a talent for the Olympic lifts, and a passion to pursue the sport seriously. It hasn’t taken her long to move up the ladder, winning the University National Championship in 2020 and making the University World Team in the 76 kg class with an 85 kg snatch and 113 kg clean and jerk.
 
Training with Walt Neubauer and the Wilmington Weightlifting Club in North Carolina, Estelle is pushing hard to juggle training and a busy work life as she chases her dream. As with many of our top athletes, she’s working and training at the same time. It’s a difficult balance to manage, but Estelle’s determination and discipline are paying off as she continues to improve. The Performance Menu is privileged to share the story of a rising US star.
 
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 grew up in and around Wilmington, NC. After finishing high school, I ended up going to Raleigh for university. I am now back in Wilmington working and training. I am currently working two part-time jobs: I work with the Autism Society of North Carolina and with the new Hanover County Senior Resource Center. I have tried to set up a work schedule that allows me to maximize my time in the gym and gives me time to work on recovery.
 
My sports background is mostly gymnastics and cheerleading. I have done some other sports throughout the years, but those two have been the most influential. I started gymnastics in first grade and continued through sixth grade. During the summer before I started seventh grade, I made the switch to Allstar cheerleading. I ended up cheering all through middle, high school and university.
 
Describe your weightlifting history. When/how did you start? Who have your coaches been? What are your proudest accomplishments?
 
I did a summer of CrossFit in 2014, which is what introduced me to the weightlifting movements. At that time, I was on the NC State cheerleading team, which took up most of my time, so I didn’t continue with it when I went back to school. In 2016, I started training the Olympic lifts with a NC State strength and conditioning intern. I started training to better my cheerleading skills. It was really helpful in developing power for tumbling as well as developing overall strength, which was important for me as a base. I started training with Walt Neubauer in January of 2017. The intern I was working with had a friend who knew of Walt, so he ended up connecting us. I have been training with Walt since then and have really enjoyed training with him and the team.
 
My proudest moments in weightlifting so far would be winning the 2020 University Championships in the 76kg division and making the 2020 University Worlds Team. Unfortunately, University Worlds was cancelled this year, but it was still a great achievement!
 
Please give a basic description of your training method. Just tell us as much as you can about your program, weekly/yearly planning, etc.
 
Walt does most of the planning when it comes to programming, but we definitely communicate about plans. Usually we will discuss what meets would make sense to do and plan from that. The past three years have been more focused on competing at Universities and making a University World Team, so my programming would be set to peak for Universities. Programming tends to follow a pattern of higher volume/lower intensity farther out from meets and then switch to lower volume/higher intensity the closer we get. If I respond well to a cycle, we may reuse a similar template, depending on what the goal is at that time.
 
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?
 
The biggest obstacle that I have personally is my work/training balance. I have taken and left jobs because they interfered with my ability to train. I have also had to think about my priorities and what I hold higher when thinking about weightlifting and my career, putting some aspects of my career lower to be able to spend the time I have towards furthering myself in weightlifting.
 
As for changes in the sport, I think it would be great to see more weightlifting programs in schools. I was introduced to weight training in high school, which I am very grateful for, but I think the coaching could have been more technical. I have heard some news about weightlifting becoming more common in colleges and universities, which is great.
          
What are your plans and goals for your weightlifting career? How do you see your future in the sport?
 
I would like to go as far as I can in this sport. I have always had dreams of going to the Olympics and plan on doing what I need to put myself in the best spot. As for right now, we are continuing to build and waiting to see what meet opportunities come up.
 
Who are some of your major influences, people you look up to, etc.? Who are the people you want to thank for your success?
 
Some of the people I would like to thank for my success are my family, Walt, and my friends and teammates. They have all been very supportive both in and out of the gym. The environment in Walt’s gym is great and the people there are all very amazing. I was training by myself when I first started so when I moved back to Wilmington, it was really great having that support.
 
Some of my influences would include my high school weight training coach, my parents, and my female teammates. My high school coach did a very great job of treating the girls no differently than the guys. That is something that I always really admired because he pushed us and expected us to work just as hard. My parents always pushed me to work hard and do my best in everything I did. They have supported me throughout all my athletic endeavors. I think my female teammates have also heavily influenced me just to see how much time and work we put into it. It’s also amazing to see these women be badass and get to work hard with them.
 
Best of luck to you in the future, Estelle. You’ve got tremendous potential, and we’re looking forward to seeing much bigger weights from you!