JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?(!EPINRPE (J( (AEPQ(AT]VGELڮWCSңZJS׏jM\qWvg]mssp SEybL+G^k;;%SRRPIKI@ŠJ((QEr 0̛ͅ0Xw_53m4JF\:tmT64vˌ8>,FhzsKGy-ׁ_8ȷ=?6m-ųso:iLEɁ1oqѵ߸vzܒCf)2 rCFks(QE%Q@Q@J(l-!ZXinڣeƜѬ ">ޣ5[AC~і+($:N1PAiŶh'nGCW^? ΓIcgj Q] =UR9orx?+c 4F:ַ )T -kJC泐yO ׹dz\7ĝMiESUͩ;; r[N\6C]-x6K$|;+⹄%PGufL5VE%QEQE% JSI@Q@a5/Idiqˣ0nV?+K֧GM[;,3RLRdVI'~ P|FOƣ(|9® g]%\7>÷֟oI0[cDyخrl[ռY9G"!tXz5+kG23+9!:Ġ-V%Π!|ۉBCҊBVӴl|d0@8zWOmXEa{kKmqqLw&=6mR[;֒#[5 ˱x^>fP%k&/ B`yVVvn]n1µ~c\.?uA7&Z]ꋰ)QG,ET{Br> \U~C[9][,wǭr[֯Y^,3ݼWM2"@vy^=#"HǏj'&p&sՎ=+FORPE zDP빔⹠vgMVn4SN泘GS0sVJۿrHrN9+Hw;W_\fV "Fj[PHT:*{{f6Y{ڭ}⏷Z>g❓ZItSzSIueu䁓5 y7à<6"V#npqҜ4؇Um7aKO3Mֶ 8n!mrPzB` $R^2#:sCǻdx8E\{iц c%vpY{E%"f\W9")(P@8O~NұViyVr nj[nY-]Ic4G_(Gr:ʱխlmUx(X@23uM37cǮkug&,pK BڳVKqn3`VDKyHN_pSdbNd"x#f#U3XOYb0PAo[r^`uF#tOz\G8jdžT!:akHѾh71t* d#YmnA푊o@nlT 1b18q\\y;P k-an9]7 ([kr;StHJ ֦[}.pT IGi6'YJp2y I4芫=p+c[ӠYm1!S P-$y#vn8iR.ʅJ 99x {PA1Ecqoj+eLmH*[]\奼>ș68!X2`pIh?kOId؎Xp>Ҥ:L$w8&6kQŮ`G綊 %xF]LazS}Y3Iu$aA*K#H|1R2IWQϖȠۮ3ʹT,lnɕU˚"fF zY/)Z02c\mJ^D{?Cl|0Č9iDD t$ֺR  j%-S 0B3Jhm]$\Kz2DїfvB9LU* #6qH >m\ridkܥюX @iro2|Qr׻G c[6p3Y眒,P-(3OzKH\sT޶D7WSZ T0p@3X"+T[iVIdrO'z~hc8iT{VE2_e'1oXDr  0FyCEq?U¶eF\1JB 4@D,QUI2~]|D\#>޺Wږ1K ~-.GmFKOMyc!!DsvQqQB&BEhފ)V?1hDNq ~1QEimZ=^Bmw7dӂѫmmJGxVr쏦0+;The word spread quickly that Schmitz was an intelligent coach who could motivate athletes to perform their best at competitions. Soon the personable Schmitz found himself working with Ken Patera, a super-heavyweight lifter (over 242 pounds bodyweight) who became the first American to clean and jerk 500 pounds and the only American to Olympic press over 500 pounds (505.5). Many weightlifting experts believed that Patera had the best chance of any American lifter to defeat the famous Russian champion Vasily Alexeev. Unfortunately, an injury kept Patera from seriously challenging Alexeev in the 1972 Olympics, and a commitment to professional wrestling closed the door for good on any future Olympic battles for Patera.<br>In 1972 Schmitz was able to buy out his partners, and he moved the gym four and a half blocks to an old neighborhood on Valencia Street. He also shortened the name of the gym to simply the Sports Palace. His new location turned out to be a good one, enabling him to make enough profit to travel to numerous national and international competitions throughout the year. The new gym was also close to Mission High School, where Ken Clark was then enrolled. While in school Clark walked into the Sports Palace looking for a place to train, and Schmitz coached him to the Olympic games and to American records of 363 in the snatch and 470 in the clean and jerk at 220 pounds bodyweight.<br>As Schmitz s stable of Sports Palace athletes continued to grow, his goals began to change.  As my team got better, I began to think that we might be able to win the national championships, says Schmitz.  That was in the late  70s, and it took us until 1982 to win the national championships. The significance of this achievement is that his team beat the York Barbell Club, which had won the championships for 29 years in a row. The York team was composed of athletes throughout the country who were sponsored by York, whereas almost all Schmitz s athletes were from the San Francisco Bay Area and were dues-paying members at Schmitz s gym. Proving the victory was not a fluke, the Sports Palace team went on to win seven more national titles.<br><br>A Legacy <