Focusing In On Power Trip Inexperienced Nic Lifter Already Holds State Records, U.S. Titles

Jan Marlatt walked into a weight room full of athletes 11 months ago at Coeur d’Alene High and wondered where she fit in the picture.

She had signed up for weightlifting class the last semester of her senior year, but had never really lifted or played any sports in high school.

“I didn’t know if I could do it, but by the last week of the semester I had broken all the school records,” Marlatt said.

In that short amount of time, Marlatt not only fit into the picture, she became its focal point. The rest of the state would find out how focused Marlatt had become in September in a competition in Meridian.

At the event, she set the state record in the snatch (105 pounds), and clean and jerk (127.5 pounds) in the 83-plus kilogram weight class. Those marks qualified Marlatt, now attending North Idaho College, for the National Collegiate Weightlifting Championships in Gainesville, Ga.

Marlatt placed first in both events at nationals against competitors who had been lifting for up to six years.

“It’s exciting to meet other people who are serious about this sport,” Marlatt said. “There aren’t many women lifters, but I hope that will change as more people see how much fun it is.”

The lack of competition doesn’t dim her personal or public accomplishments in the slightest. Marlatt has found a love for the sport despite it’s grueling nature.

“Sometimes during workouts it’s hard to keep going, but I love the sport so much that I have to,” she said.

The hard work has paid off in national recognition, but more important to Marlatt is the individual growth she has achieved through lifting. Marlatt, shy and soft-spoken, harbors no love for the spotlight, but instead lifts weights to improve herself.

“It’s hard dealing with the success, but I find new muscles all the time that keep reminding me of why I do this,” Marlatt said.

Marlatt’s next chance to see how she stacks up against national competitors comes Saturday in Sacramento, Calif. Marlatt will take on collegiate lifters once again, and also plans on scouting out the Cal State Sacramento campus, where she hopes to be after leaving NIC.

One key to her success is that she’s become a student of weightlifting technique. Her teacher and mentor is Pat Corbett, the weightlifting instructor at Coeur d’Alene High, who got Marlatt started and has been a guiding hand in her career.

“He’s pretty much the only competitive weight lifter in the area besides me,” Marlatt said. “Sometimes I have to work out late at night and he’ll always come down to open up the gym for me and give me advice.”

That counsel is a key to Marlatt’s success. She feels technique is the most important part of lifting.

“Jan is dedicated and coachable, which is rare these days,” Corbett said. “She’s got the personal drive to succeed and she’ll go as far as she wants to.”

One of the things that surprises Marlatt about lifting is how much she has learned since beginning.

“I’ve been lifting competitively for less than five months, but I’ve gained enough knowledge to teach other people already,” she said.

Eleven months ago Marlatt may not have imagined how far she would come. Through hard work and study, the picture has snapped into focus and it looks like the portrait of a champion.