Cortney Batchelor

I'm Cortney Batchelor, a 22 year old Olympic Weightlifter and current a resident Athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, so I'm a long way from home. I started weightlifting my junior year of high school during the off seasons for basketball. It wasn't until my senior year that I quit basketball and focused solely on weightlifting. I've been an athlete all my life. I've done everything from soccer, swimming, and volleyball, to gymnastics and cheer leading. I am one of the most competitive people you will ever meet. Before I moved to Colorado I lived a pretty busy life. I worked a full time job working as a scrub tech in the cath lab at Springhill Memorial Hospital. (Shout out! Holla!!) On top of that I was still in school and also training. I had an amazing group of friends, and a boyfriend of 4 1/2 years.

In 2010 I had made my first Junior World team where we competed in Malaysia. That is where I had first met Zygmunt Smlalcerz who is an Olympic champion and the National Coach for weightlifting. I had no idea at the time, but meeting him would completely change my life. The summer of 2010 was when I was first invited out to the Training Center for a camp. I had no idea how much work and dedication they put into their lifting careers and here I was thinking I was a badass. This was the first time that Zygmunt put the thought into my head about becoming a resident athlete. I continued going to these camps for the next year and a half. Each time I was sat down by Zygmunt, trying to persuade me to move out there. It wasn't until August of 2012 that I had finally made the decision to move to Colorado Springs. When I got the phone call giving me the date I was expected to be there, I was in the middle of a crazy day at work. Right then and there my whole life was changed. It was such an overwhelming feeling that the only thing I knew to do was to cry. When I told my aunt who was also my boss, I could barely get it out. The worst was when I had to tell my two best friends, Courtney and Lori, that I was moving away from them to a place that wasn't just a car ride away, that the "3 Musketeers" was quickly about to turn into "Double Trouble," and that I was leaving them in exactly a month. I had no idea what to expect in that next month. I had to quit a job that I loved way too much, pack up my house that Lori and I lived in together, and still have time to train and spend time with all my friends and family. Of course that was the fastest month of my life, but it was by far the best.

August 15 2012 was the day that I left. We woke up after being out all night, went to my favorite fast food place, and then packed up the rest of my stuff and headed to the airport. I have never cried so much in my life. I was getting on a plane, leaving the place that I have lived for 22 years, my family, an amazing job, a relationship of 4 1/2 years, and the best friends that I could ever ask for, all just to chase a dream.

The first few months were extremely hard for me. I struggled adjusting to living in a new place, being in a completely different training environment, and overcoming the feeling of missing home. I had made new friends, but they were nothing like the ones from back home. I contemplated on if this was really worth it. Could I still achieve this goal at home? It took me a while but I realized that it is totally worth it, and that my friends and family are always going to be there. There was no way that I was going to be able to only focus on training and achieve this goal at home. My training was completely different than what I was used to. I went from training four times a week to nine. I am now training twice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and once Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It was a lot to get used to but I feel that I have handled it pretty well.

I've been out at the Training Center for 11 months now. So far it's been amazing, yet very stressful. This is my job now; I spend most of my day in the gym. When you watch interviews of Olympians, they say that this is what they have been doing every day for the past four years, they mean it. Everyone is here for the same reason. We're all here in hopes of making an Olympic Team. Some are working towards our first, while others their second or third. It's an amazing feeling to sit down at breakfast and sit across from an Olympian. It's really an amazing feeling when you see Ryan Lochte walk through the doors, and your instant reaction is to act like a 13 year old girl at a Justin Bieber Concert. At the Olympic Training Center you're surrounded by nothing but greatness. You're being coached by a man that was so good at the sport that he medaled at the Olympics. Being a part of this is an amazing opportunity that not everyone is blessed with, and I am so thankful that I am.

All in all, was it worth moving to Colorado Springs? To leave my family and friends, and the only life that I knew for 22 years? Absolutely! I definitely had to make a lot of sacrifices to be here, but it's the best decision I have ever made, for my life and my lifting career and I thank God for this Amazing opportunity.