A metro man is chasing his dreams and representing the USA on a national stage later this month.
It's taken a lot of heavy lifting to get to this point for Ethan Harak.
"It wasn't luck, it was a lot of hard work that went into it. I was one of the top 8 men that they selected,” said Harak, Team USA Olympic Weightlifter.
After qualifying at the American Open Championship in 2016, Harak is now on to represent Team USA for the second time.
"I'm very excited for him and very proud of him," said Aaron Axmear, Harak's coach.
In two weeks, Harak will head for Miami, Florida to fight for a spot on the podium at the 2017 Pan American Championships.
"I am very much looking forward to representing the U.S. again, but I'm more excited that it's in the USA," said Harak.
Though his accomplishments may say otherwise, the sport of weightlifting is fairly new to him.
"I'm actually still a baby in this sport," said Harak.
It was four years ago that Harak decided to make the switch from crossfitto weightlifting.
"My coach was like you should be a weightlifter because you're much better at moving weights than you are at doing pull ups," said Harak.
"Athletes that are typically successful at crossfit, they're not as big as him and he just looked like he had a lot of potential as an Olympic weightlifter,” said Axmear.
Now, Harak said he’s perfecting his training.
"My best snach ever was 170 kilos, which is 374 lbs," said Harak. "My best clean and jerk is 210 kilograms."
A record he hopes to accomplish in Miami.
"I haven't actually hit those in competition. I hit them in training, so I need to put that all together on the platform. So I think if I do those two numbers, then I will have a very good shot at being on the podium," said Harak.
"He just is a workhorse and he gets the job done and doesn't complain. He's the type of athlete that every coach wants," said Axmear.
Harak's just one of the athletes likely to bring home a medal.
"If that were to happen, that would be, that would be unbelievable, that would be, I mean to get an international medal, that would be awesome," said Harak.
The 2017 Pan American Championships will take place from July 21 – 27.
