|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Derby, ENG |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Atlas Gym: Alfreton, ENG |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Exercise Science, Sports Science - Loughborough University [ENG] / Sheffield Hallam University [ENG] |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Playing the guitar, listening to music, going to theme parks, going to the cinema and concerts, going out for good food. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014) |
| Injuries | He missed the 2013 Commonwealth Championships in Penang, Malaysia, after having an operation on his burst appendix. He was out for three months in total. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014; derbytelegraph.co.uk, 22 Nov 2013) In 2012 he suffered a broken wrist and was out of action for three months. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Setting a personal best at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014) |
| Famous relatives | His father Chris Sr. has played and refereed water polo at international level, and has been chairman of England Weightlifting and executive director of British Weightlifting. His sister Joanne is a qualified water polo coach. (cabsc.co.uk, 13 May 2014) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | He began weightlifting because he was too short to play water polo, and picked up the technique quickly. He was also inspired by his father. "My dad used to do a little bit [of weightlifting] in the masters section so that gave me the inspiration to carry it on." |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | Coaches Cyril Martin and Dave Sawyer, and his family. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He first tried weightlifting at age 12 in Derby, England. He took it up competitively at age 16. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete, Coach, Massage Therapist |
| Languages | English, French, German |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Chris, Freebs, Freebo Baggins [because of his short stature."I'm hobbit-sized."] (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014; derbytelegraph.co.uk, 31 Oct 2014) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Train hard, compete easy." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014) |
| Other information | FUNDING ISSUES In 2017 he and his teammates worked together to raise the 2300 GBP needed for four Derbyshire based athletes, including himself, to travel to the 2017 Commonwealth Championships in Australia. "Ever since funding was cut for male weightlifters in 2012 and for women earlier this year [2017], it has been difficult for athletes like those from Atlas Gym to raise the funds necessary to compete abroad." (lovebusinesseastmidlands.com, 25 Aug 2017) FURTHER EDUCATION He has a master's degree in applied science and exercise science, and is an accredited Olympic weightlifting coach and sports massage therapist. (msjsports.co.uk, 03 Oct 2015; cabsc.co.uk, 13 May 2014) OTHER ACTIVITIES He has worked as a junior strength and conditioning coach for Derbyshire Institute of Sport in England. He has also served in the sport and exercise science faculty at Derby University as an associate lecturer, and has worked as a deputy manager at Malvern St James [MSJ] Sports and Fitness Centre in Worcestershire, England. He also has coaching and refereeing qualifications in water polo. (msjsports.co.uk, 03 Oct 2015; derbyshiresport.co.uk, 29 May 2015; cabsc.co.uk, 13 May 2014) |
| Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs | "Every competition is different, but I always drink an energy drink beforehand." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014) |
| Hero / Idol | Chinese weightlifter Liao Hui. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2014) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Cyril Martin [club] |
| Training Regime | He trains six days a week. |