A Conversation with Phil Andrews and Kevin Farley This interview is the first in a series I will post during the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California. It took place about three weeks prior to the event. Phil Andrews is Chief Executive Officer of USA Weightlifting. Kevin Farley is Director of Membership, Communications & Digital Marketing. Daniel Kunitz is the author of LIFT: Fitness Culture from Naked Greeks and Amazons to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors. Daniel Kunitz: I know anecdotally that weightlifting is growing in the United States, but do you have any statistics? Phil Andrews: At the time of the 2012 Olympic Games, we had about 11,000 members and by the end of the 2016 Olympic Games we had about 26,000. We were the fastest growing sport of the Olympic movement in that quadrennial: the other three were rugby, lacrosse, and archery. To be fair, rugby and lacrosse grew…
