It’s not often that we feel intimidated by children, but some manage to accomplish so much before they’re even old enough to drive that it’s hard not to be.
It’s widely known that Mozart and Picasso were scarily good at what they did as young children, but it’s not like modern times haven’t shown us our share of prodigies either.
Some show a remarkable level of intelligence that goes a little deeper than being wise beyond their years, others have accomplished things that normally wouldn’t be possible for us until we’re well within our thirties, and still others have demonstrated as many physical gifts as intellectual ones.
But while it’s hard not to marvel at what these kids can achieve at such young ages, one child’s incredible strength seems almost baffling to the point that I’d be convinced if you told me she has superpowers.
Before she showed how dominant she could be in weightlifting, Rory van Ulft of Ottawa, Ontario had initially taken it up to help with her gymnastics training.
But as People reported , weightlifting would end up interesting her significantly more and she showed enough aptitude that she was already entering competitions at the age of six.
At the time, she was able to perform a 50-pound clean and jerk, but it wouldn’t take long for that to seem like a rookie number to her.
Just two years later, she’s walked away with several championship wins and was named U.S. weightlifting Youth National Champion twice.
And considering that the eight-year-old can now clean and jerk over 100 pounds, deadlift 200 pounds, and squat 160 pounds, it’s pretty easy to see why.
It’s not every day that we meet a kid who can lift more than they weigh.
According to her mother Lindsay, van Ulft has had a very supportive reception within the weightlifting community.
However, her family has taken a lot of heat from those outside of it who seem to think they’re endangering their daughter.
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As Linday told People , “I took the first thousand comments about how I was a terrible mother a little personally. But, I look at my kid and how amazing, inspiring, and confident she is.”
And indeed, van Ulft is only doing this because she wants to and is welcome to quit at any time.
But considering that she now has dreams of becoming an Olympic weightlifting champ after watching this year’s Tokyo games, it doesn’t seem likely that’s she’ll lose interest anytime soon.
In Lindsay’s words, “What I want people to take away from this is how good strength sports are for your daughter. I get the evidence every day.”
h/t: People
