Athlete in Focus: Weightlifter Ervin Rozsnyik’s Strengths

‘A difficult challenge is also enjoyable’

BIALA PODLASKA – He says his greatest strength is his attitude, yet it is sheer physical force that is on display when he performs at his best. Meet 25-year old weightlifter Ervin Rozsnyik from Subotica, Serbia, who recently won gold at the FISU World University Weightlifting Championship.

The Men’s 77 kg category final was in fact, one of the closest finishes in the competition, as Ervin edged out Japan’s Yuki Hara for the title. He lifted 139 kg in the Snatch and 170 in Clean & Jerk for a total of 309 kg.

“The victory feel was awesome,” he tells FISU. “I trained really hard and was well prepared for the Championship.”

He was also completely overwhelmed, he says, with the atmosphere of the competition. “There were a lot of young and enthusiastic people from all over the world in one place. It was my first FISU experience and I really liked it.”

One could say he was a bit late coming to the weightlifting party, as it was only at age 18 that he realized his potential in the sport. And that too, was mostly because of an inspirational figure at home.

“My father is a former weightlifter and he introduced me to the sport,” says Ervin. “It is not the most popular sport in Serbia. Unfortunately, only a few of us here are in the weightlifting world.”

Once he started taking the sport seriously, he improved rapidly and realized that he wanted more than just to be average.

“I am always grateful for what I achieve, but I am never satisfied at all,” he gives us a little glimpse into his personality.

No wonder then, an Olympic dream is also on the horizon. But as far as immediate future goals go, he says he wants to participate in the European and World Championships in 2019 and importantly, also graduate from University.

“Sometimes it can be challenging, but I have to find a balance between sport and studies,” Ervin believes. “I’m studying to be a sport coach in the Faculty of Sport at University Union – Nikola Tesla, in Belgrade.”

That fits in nicely with his grand scheme of things, as over the next 2-3 years he says he wants to build his own weightlifting academy for children and start coaching.

His love for his sport is obvious when he says “Weightlifting is a very attractive and spectacular sport. It’s really a mix of physical strength, and technical and moving skills.”

“On stage, the athletes fight with themselves, with the barbell and indirectly with the other athletes at the same time. That’s makes weightlifting difficult but also really enjoyable.”

And that brings us back to his attitude. Ervin Rozsnyik seems to be the kind of person who wouldn’t really enjoy something unless it is challenging, or difficult.