PELLA—Former Central College men's wrestler and strength and conditioning intern Eddie Ginnan placed 13th in the 81-kilogram division at the International Weightlifting Federation Championships last week in Manama, Bahrain.
           
Ginnan had a weight total of 334 kilograms after snatching 150 kilograms and hitting 184 kilograms in the clean and jerk.  Ri Chong Song of North Korea won the title with a total of 371 kilograms.
           
He set new personal bests with both of his marks. He went 3-for-3 on snatch attempts and his final effort of 150kg was five better than his previous high. He missed his first two attempts on the clean and jerk but his last attempt was good and two kilograms above his previous best.
           
"I had the best meet of my life so far," Ginnan said "And the experience has motivated me to reach for bigger numbers. Making a world team was the goal since the beginning and I want to express how thankful I am to everyone who helped me reach it."
           
At Ginnan's first competition at the 2018 Des Moines Open while a Central student, Ginnan snatched 112 kilograms and clean and jerked 151 kilograms.
           
"The Central strength and conditioning program made a huge difference in building up my base," he said. "All of the coaching staff and my lifting partners helped push me.
           
"Coach (Eric) Van Kley and Coach (Kyle) Johnson helped me make the tough decision to retire from wrestling and really dedicate myself to the weight room. Having the support of my coaches even though I was pursuing a goal outside of Central athletics was a huge deal."