Former Meridian High School state champion powerlifter Andrew Bator is pictured performing a bench press in 2014. Bator, a Mississippi State student, recently took up Olympic weightlifting after beginning a program at Mississippi Barbell in Brandon.

To most people who follow Meridian High School football, Andrew Bator was a standout linebacker. They might even remember him winning a powerlifting title two years ago.

Bator originally attended Bentley University out of high school to play football, though he eventually gave up the sport and transferred to Mississippi State. No longer playing the sport he grew up with, Bator said there was a “void” he was looking to fill.

This past December, he began training with Olympic weightlifting coach Tyler Smith out of Mississippi Barbell in Brandon. His goal is to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — a big goal that’s a long way off, but not an unrealistic one, Smith said.

“To be at that level, it requires a lot of things, but two main things: flexibility and strength,” Smith said. “Andrew is just as strong as the elite-level U.S. athletes now… The technique and flexibility is what he needs.”

Bator said for the first time, he’s lifting for a reason other than ultimately helping out with football.

“My whole life it’s been for the football aspect,” Bator said. “I had done powerlifting, but it’s almost like there’s more you can do with weightlifting. I enjoy it more than powerlifting, because it’s more technical. It’s more of a process and more of a challenge.

“I grew to love the Olympic-style weightlifting when he introduced it. I wanted to find something to do, and I love weightlifting, so this was something that could fill the void.”

Whereas powerlifting is solely about strength, featuring the squad, bench press and deadlift, Olympic weightlifting is about both strength and form, featuring the snatch and the clean and jerk. 

“Your flexibility almost has to be on the level of a gymnast, because it’s so demanding,” Smith explained. “With Andrew, I had to work on the flexibility mostly, because he was so stiff and tight from years of powerlifting. I typically spend several years developing strength, and with Andrew, it was the opposite.”

During the school year, Bator will typically visit Mississippi Barbell a couple of times a week, as well as training on his own at MSU and videoing the lifting so he can send it to Smith to critique. So far, Bator said Smith has been an excellent coach who’s provided plenty of knowledge about the sport.

“He has really good patience,” Bator said. “When I first started, I had the strength, but the technical part and stuff like that took time to develop. He knows what he’s talking about, and I don’t think I’d have gotten this far without his help.”

Smith said the easiest part about coaching Bator is he’s strong enough to accomplish whatever Smith wants.

“The hardest thing is convincing him of that, as well as making him at times ratchet back,” Smith said. “It’s hard for me to get him to step back and look at the big picture by maybe dropping the weight a little so he can get quality reps over and over.”

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics being four years away, Bator said the goal he has in mind hasn’t really sunk in yet. Right now, he’s just trying to improve day by day.

“It’s still a process for me right now,” Bator said. “I have University Nationals at the end of September in Baton Rouge, and I’m hoping I can qualify at that for the American Open in Orlando this December. I’m hoping each national meet I go to I can get bigger numbers each time and gradually grow on that. I’m sure it’ll sink in at some point if I keep improving. It’s a long road ahead, but it’s definitely a main goal of mine.”

Bator said he also hopes his story might inspire other lifters about looking into the sport.

“If there’s a kid out there not necessarily getting looks for football, if they’re doing weightlifting, there are other things you can do with your strength. I feel like a lot of people might know about (Olympic weightlifting), but maybe they don’t think much about it.”