Champion finds literature uplifting
Simon Fraser University first-year student Derek Herridge is as comfortable sitting back with a great literary work as he is hoisting 120 kilograms over his head.
The SFU Surrey world literature student recently netted a gold medal in his 94 kg weight category at the Junior Canadian Weightlifting Championships.
Herridge had a 270 kg combined lift - 125 kg in the snatch and a clean-and-jerk of 145 kg - that was an impressive 20 kilograms heavier than the second place score.
“I started lifting weights in high school and realized that I not only liked it, but could do well,” says Herridge, who continues to train at Semiahmoo Secondary in South Surrey.
His championship medal is a first after six years in the sport. His sights are now set on making the U21 national team and training to qualify for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Herridge’s involvement in the sport even piqued the interest of his mother, a school teacher, who took it up and became a Canadian masters champion.
They also share a love of reading – and that’s what has steered Herridge’s academic direction. “I’ve always loved literature. Books were always in my world,” he says.
“I love to read and I love to listen to others read,” Herridge adds, with favorite works including The Barefoot Gen, The Unbelievable Lightness of Being, The Divine Comedy, and epics like Dante’s Inferno and The Odyssey.
It’s not exactly gym reading material. And while athlete students often lean towards fields like sports therapy, Herridge does not apologize that he is not a science guy.
“I’m taking world literature because I like it, it’s that simple,” says Herridge, who sports a high-B GPA after his first semester, and whose social network is largely English and arts program pals. “Writing can be really intense. But it’s the reading that helps. In class, that’s my strength.”
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Comments
Comment GuidelinesWho writes this?
The Unbelievable Lightness of Being is not a book.
Congradulations on successfully combining strength and academics.
Pavel,
Best check first. The Unbelievable Lightness of Being is a book, written in 1984 by Milan Kundera, made into a movie in 1988.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unbearable_Lightness_of_Being9
Too bad SFU laid off its editors a few years ago. An editor would have caught "Unbelievable" before this embarrassing error hit the public eye.
Sandra, which "error" do you refer to, Pavel's? The story is correct.
Milan Kundera wrote The Unbearable Lightness of Being, not The Unbelievable Lightness of Being.
Mea culpa, I have to slow down and read, not scan.
Justin
Good on you Derek! I knew you could do it. I train with Derek at Semi under coach Deter Stamm and Derek really helped motivate and drive my training. We are very competitive and it helped achieve more. When I first walked into Semi club and saw Derek lift I was truly amazed. I hope Derek goes far in the sport. He definitely has the ability.