Name: Adam Beytin
Team: East Coast Gold
Coach: Leo Totten and Ellyn "Doc" Robinson
Weight class: 77kg
Height: 5'4"
What year did you begin lifting?
I learned about power cleans in high school, and cleans and snatches were part of our lifting program while I wrestled for the University of Maryland, College Park from 2001 to 2005. I officially got into Olympic Weightlifting afterwards, in 2007.
How did you get involved?
I learned in the varsity weight room that I was better at lifting than I was wrestling - as far as I know my old team power clean record still stands. Watching Shane Hamman and the 2004 Summer Olympics, I dreamed about how great it would be to go that far in weightlifting. I mentioned it in passing to some of my teammates and coaches and was surprised to find they all believed that I had the potential. My wrestling career ended with a shoulder injury in 2004 and surgery in 2005, and after I recovered I started training with Augie Maurelli, then-head strength coach at Georgetown. He directed me to the 2007 Maryland State Championships where I introduced myself to as many people as I could. A couple of weeks later I started training with Leo Totten in Gettysburg, PA and Coach Jami Willette-Brown in Fredrick, MD.
Favorite competition lift:
Snatches are great because they can feel so easy but they're very fickle. Cleans and jerks take more energy but give you more leeway. Currently I would pick clean and jerk.
Favorite training lift:
On a good day snatches are the most fun, but I may have shifted my allegiance to the almighty RDL.
Education:
BS with honors in Computer Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park with minors in Japanese and Piano Performance.
Personal goals:
My ultimate goal has always been to go to the Olympics.
Favorite food:
If you can name a single favorite food then you don't eat well enough! My girlfriend and I love to cook, so I try out a lot of things. However, I am quite partial to sushi.
Favorite book:
I was a big Stephen King/Michael Crichton fan as a kid, and Christine and Jurassic Park were some of my favorites in elementary school. Now I like a lot of classics, like Lord of the Flies, but I am embarrassed to admit that Harry Potter may currently be my favorite series.
Favorite TV show:
I don't like TV much, but Archer is awesome.
Favorite song that gets you motivated:
Music was a motivator while I wrestled, but it doesn't do it for me as a lifter.
Hobbies/interests outside of weightlifting:
I have too many to count! I am a software engineer that takes up side projects for fun. I love robotics and artificial intelligence - that's how I got my job - and I also work on flight dynamics and power systems. I like to play piano and guitar, although I don't have much time for them anymore, and I was a singer in college. I'm still involved with wrestling as the head coach of the University of Maryland Wrestling Club, and I love to rock climb when I have time off from lifting. Cooking is a big part of my life, and I am working on getting a bit into baking, which is science for hungry people.
Most people don't know that....
I prefer my coffee black. Otherwise it's called "dessert."