JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?(R”~u)08~œ)1ҀR )YsI #3Y) qڱ-ֲX2⓼n.@@c*P07EzI+Δ\C>Κ 8tAӆA?:hڜ ;Aӆ}H)Km$` ."@GS֦ڝOs?qWt&Ƹ'R\== xZ~ڮ  z"+ AbsZ7Wi+SO=J/  Gr!1:rkV`J}eLɹ+ڴtPO[0E&sސ֢PkT\*SU2ePcJ5F@ttSW<98qp:zTFAL\׉tQwdnhpַ ˂zt&tՙlRU.G-z5NS9$:(Zrڝ"arڶ[J:N}b+M Vme*yDJ CJp+lGǏ3ay|6 3;Px8X6wt 3R~dJ jmV M(:-HJ: 禜 _FDCs}(`r *~ VۋTlar35YZж YWmx׋g9YKpq"VL_~*^[q]&g# a9RqG[879M.Ѯ"[8;VŔ o:* l3zV=wn5-0Z᪦Ye#9 2h,g;AN=Et[yR*o -Am,ITi;*" R@+J⬢kzqq8r'pE@CCKj; ݚݢF4ΛqqH_>]2E8ߗJg̵gfI;R˜Ҕ7Ҁ$()w}((5 ImnY vY@gˣCH}$SGcamYGieEkU}"4zniçjpQNR—?ɦKFE<QRjMtp۔`fRFw4SMKOxW"q\\m:2=c訷i#մ63\wVntwUf8o'ܡSZ(B]a}ʱ8InDCm6KvƷ2 B96YYwSH Q!=3P[voON'mRU+ ]oW "3qYwLT7NQ{I: ~s@iuR8r,T@87<aʎ*fh,Vkd8^O+N20b+;Mujw>gړ/_ʨ_R9R~])GRFAN=7S~TRŠB)RN)׵:)ߕ()G^~TߕVӡB$Qu"ғJJ̸NPw9 -ڳ%l܌W\t^>K`g$t~ў@ wA2 GG1{W<;p&Ҳ7dԙڱ?}sYTuiZ$*TAM[^\WLr?ή \BJ7#P—Z-Ȇf%c94Q;xy)XI *PuVᔟ0,V}bhh2U ;o6'͍^vei?< ypqpj#MK% d1ZCǚdD<88Te-75D[Se*r G\rk: 6@"p:"iڝ0{ H3ZEk d1՜XzS⬎V15H;#E?1\ -/3k&#῕c*g;jj gjpRA8ST `(4NIҊ@;q);(W>8j(H 8`(RgҐ–S@8ڂwP:LGK{+lIkYi! !>]E1t7D\']7(rI۞j%vN{ҏj/@ӱ@)j;{R3׵!Nhǽ7񢟎:@Ӂ<i(>QgϿjLҎځKϲL_G`Cknq:[fC*X'z9'9^}YNjTyP3|cӊVNKyV)*4ZP\nIn\7~isu!A5ct0Yz $Vg3~P[2ij^\+( mu Lty2LVU8 t8sıQψgnI㩭˫GIw%t1R?:!!4G fMo[Cc Ym>#= m/Ķgl $jJw rZ4-1p4MMn96o^>v#5ved!vkZ6cVr \$`z.:Z'˛DN8l<{!4)SW;//ߕ'KzQ֗Z\1GQzQ@ ?RvE* p+0jՠj(5G,kO][#; /ƝۭemcYΔkcyv bI1#Aow8OvoGOqE=6*iƚ5i6 />8; Zs,j61Q=;\}&vuyO`qҷmYĿhI- Y#-$ehT ҦԵ :zCN(񀫿';aV5}nG o1IR̀q,Ku8{++ 5:s70VR^ZM`ږ";SVs𿉵%-V{FTIxƚUzOEg:JrAvoʲ$kMQ]ˠ*wP}Uk֗>-{-Llӿi~m='Ͻ(:[n}k?t?EAh7 @ni: r1I B"֞2h,})2{FzW}Q֞1`4֐?ҨhC0UG>@'&d"*FY)JYPDCP;JaM*̞7'5#rt?j8SbS}g"IWYY$S!Gz 枥Z7'vĒJ/I(^:.MM!zP):zӲ=M;53VP XBONdPLKh`;4!< ;&'ւOƓ'փ֔i^) 3XQWSsn?ܮiyx1MTMBO$FƵ9NJ!QDp?:=? =AlgJNiO?U/Z]i;0AO4=M!CRSB Թ @Iފre he could Olympic press 281, snatch 275 and clean and jerk 347 at a bodyweight of 200 pounds.<br>As Schmitz s training knowledge grew, so did the number of Olympic lifters and potential Olympic lifters interested in training at Alex s gym. One of the first was Dan Cantore, a future Olympian and American record holder who peaked with best lifts of 281 in the snatch and 358 in the clean and jerk at 148 pounds bodyweight.  Cantore and the other lifters who were now training at the Sports Palace were really good, says Schmitz.  I watched them, helped them at contests, and as the Sports Palace lifting team evolved I found myself taking on a greater role in their training. I really liked what I was doing, and began to realize that coaching was my calling so I just stayed with it. <br>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 thnk 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 <br>of Strength<br><br>Asking Schmitz who his favorite lifters are is like asking a father which of his children he likes the best - he just