Raising the bar: Saskatoon teen showcases ‘raw power’ of women in weightlifting

When Etta Love was just three years old, her affinity for plastic barbells gave her parents an inkling of what she would become.

Now, 12 years later, she holds a world title for weightlifting in her age category.

(Emma Love/Submitted)

Growing up, the women at her mom’s CrossFit gym were some of the first people to inspire Love’s journey to the bar. She said they symbolized to her one thing: “Raw power.”

It started with plastic barbells and medicine balls, and eventually Love started participating in children’s CrossFit classes. That transformed into youth weightlifting classes, and then competitions.

“Every time I came back from a workout, I always wanted to stay longer,” Love said.

While pumping iron might be intimidating for some women, it’s a form of empowerment beyond just the physical for Love.

A year and a half ago she created her own weightlifting gym in her garage, and training has become almost a full-time job. She trains 20 hours a week, and on top of that continues to work on her brand.

“I’ve always known that what gets me here. And what gets me further is not actually the big competitions, it’s the everyday technique work,” Love said.

Love is already making moves in the sport; she says she has been in so many competitions that she has lost count.

She started off lifting the bar in local competitions from age 10 and took it a step further on an international stage. In Lima, Peru in October, she achieved a youth Pan-American record in the clean and jerk with a 131-kilogram lift.

Currently, after just one international competition, she holds the title as the top-ranked under-18 lifter in the world for her age and weight category.

But that title comes with a price tag.

Love said competitions are expensive, and to help with funding and bring awareness to the sport, she has created a fundraiser called “Make a Champ.”

“As athletes in a pretty niche sport, we don’t get as much exposure,” she said. “I think (my) community is where I get motivation and support from.”

Love also said very few Canadian athletes get funding for the sport.

“In other countries, I would get paid to do this,” she said, adding every trip and competition is paid for out of pocket.

Love’s mom, Emma, said international competitions can cost up to $10,000.

“When your child works this hard, when they put in the hours (and) when they’re doing everything that they possibly can … to not be able to say yes to the opportunities they’ve earned because of finances is very difficult,” Emma said.

Contributions made to Love’s campaign will assist her in pursuing her weightlifting goals, and depending on the amount contributed, she will send back postcards or T-shirts, and even put organizations’ logos on her clothes and training bag.

Love hopes to raise money to assist her in her next competition; she’ll be jetting off to the youth world championships at the end of March in Albania to represent Saskatchewan on a world stage.

“The next generation of strength is our daughters because they were raised seeing strength as something that’s valuable, and not trying to fit their bodies into the smallest package possible,” Emma said, adding she’s extremely proud of Etta’s accomplishments thus far.

Etta said she’s not setting limits on what she can achieve for her goals, but she has her eyes on the 2024 or 2028 Summer Olympics.

“I just have to focus on working every day to make that happen,” she said.

More information can be found on the Make a Champ website.