Tim's Elbow Update

                   

Tim's Elbow Update

We went with Tim to see Ortho today to discuss his elbow, the plan of action, and the next steps toward getting him back to competing.

The doctor we saw was, by far, the best we've seen so far. He was extremely informative and took the time to explain what he believes is going on and what he feels we need to do moving forward.

In a nutshell, Tim will be spending the next six weeks working with a physical therapist who specializes in the type of elbow injury he has. Apparently, this is something they see quite often in baseball players.

The doctor believes Tim has a sprained UCL, with the possibility of a tear that may or may not require surgery down the road. He also believes Tim has a bone spur that is further complicating things.

The next six weeks of specialized PT will help us better understand just how serious the injury is. If PT helps and Tim responds well, he could potentially get back to lifting sooner rather than later. If it doesn't improve the issue, we could be looking at surgery to address the bone spur as well as the UCL.

One thing we really appreciated about this doctor is that he doesn't just jump to surgery. He explained that, more often than not, a good PT specialist can get elite athletes back to their sport without further intervention. And if Tim does ultimately require surgery, it will mean a longer healing process, but he should still be able to get back to his sport.

So, at least as of right now, this isn't a “you'll never lift again” scenario. It's a “when will you be able to lift again?” scenario. And we'll take that.

Tim has been beyond frustrated through all of this, but he knows this is something that has to happen in order for his elbow to heal properly. He's taking it in stride and is willing to do whatever it takes to get better. He just wants answers, wants to heal, and wants to get back to doing what he loves.

And that's where we come in.

We're going to continue being there for him, supporting him and helping him keep his head on straight as he jumps through all of these hoops he has to go through in order to move forward.

It's not the road he wanted to be on, but it's the road he's on right now.

So we'll take it one step at a time, trust the process, and keep moving forward because Tim loves Olympic weightlifting—and he's not ready to give that up. 

Keep praying in agreement with us for his complete healing as he does all that ortho and the physical therapist advise him to do. 

Record Holder

(These numbers are in kg so you have to convert them to #'s)

Record Holder

Tim is officially a record holder!

Tim now holds the record in the Men’s Junior 70kg Division for the Carolina WSO (Weightlifting State Organization), which includes lifters from both North Carolina and South Carolina.

This is something I’m pretty proud of because it’s not just a record for a particular competition or gym. The Carolina WSO records include lifters across North Carolina and South Carolina, so his name is now part of the record books for his state organization.

He actually beat the requirements for the States record by a long shot when he competed at Junior Nationals this past summer.

There is a little bit of a story behind how his results ended up in the 70kg category.

When Tim competed at Junior Nationals, he was competing in the 71kg Junior division, which was the weight class at the time. Since then, USA Weightlifting has changed the weight classes, and the 71kg division no longer exists. When Tim weighed in at Nationals, he was actually under 70kg, so his results qualified to be placed in the new 70kg Junior division.

And now his name is at the top of that record.

How cool is that?

As his mom, I am incredibly proud of everything Tim has accomplished this year. He won Junior Nationals in his division, set personal records, and now has his name in the Carolina WSO record books.

But here's the part that means just as much to me...

Tim is currently out with an elbow injury.

This is the first time since he started his Olympic weightlifting journey that he has had to sit out of States. And I know that's not easy for him.

He misses lifting.

He misses training.

He misses making gains and working toward his next goal.

When you're used to walking into the gym, putting in the work, seeing your numbers go up and constantly pushing yourself to get better, being told you have to stop can be incredibly frustrating.

But even in the middle of that disappointment, Tim is keeping a positive attitude and making the best of a tough situation.

That makes me proud too.

Because being an athlete isn't just about what you can do when everything is going right. Sometimes it's about how you handle the seasons when things aren't going the way you planned.

And this is one of those seasons for Tim.

He won't be competing at States this year, but he will still be there.

He'll be there supporting his teammates, cheering them on and helping his coach wherever he can.

That's the kind of thing I love seeing in him.

He's learning that being part of a team isn't dependent on whether you're the one standing on the platform. Sometimes your role is to compete. Sometimes it's to encourage. Sometimes it's to help. And sometimes it's simply to stand beside the people you've trained with and support them.

And while I know he'd much rather be lifting, I'm proud of the way he's handling this setback.

What a year this has already been for him.

He became a Junior Nationals champion.

He hit some huge personal records.

And now he's officially a Carolina WSO record holder.

That's a pretty incredible list of accomplishments for one year.

But as I've said before, the medals, the records, the numbers and the titles are just part of the story.

What matters most to me is the young man behind all of it.

I'm proud of the lifter Tim has become, but I'm even more proud of the person he's becoming.

This injury may have temporarily taken him off the platform, but it hasn't taken away his accomplishments, his work ethic, his determination or his place on his team.

The platform will still be there when he's ready to return.

For now, we're taking this one step at a time, trusting God through the process and making the best of where he is right now.

This Is Just Another Chapter

This Is Just Another Chapter

It’s with a sad heart that we let you know that Tim will not be competing at States this year. This will be the first time he has had to miss a competition since he started his journey in Olympic weightlifting. He will still be there at States supporting his teammates and helping his coach wherever he is needed. Even though he won’t be on the platform this time, he’ll still be part of his team—and I know he’ll be cheering them on every step of the way.

Now, let me give you the backstory on his injury.

A couple of months before Nationals, Tim started having some pain in his elbow. It wasn’t anything unbearable, and his body guy was able to get it under control pretty quickly—or so we thought.

You just never know what may be lurking underneath.

His body guy could only treat the symptoms Tim was experiencing. He did dry needling and shockwave therapy on the area, and for a while, it seemed to be doing the trick.

When Tim went to Nationals in June, his elbow was feeling good. He went on to make PR lifts and win his first USA Weightlifting National Junior Championship. It was an incredible Championships week, and we were so proud of him.

Then we came home, and he went back into training.

His elbow progressively started getting worse.

After doing everything he could, his body guy advised us to have Tim seen by an orthopedic doctor. We put in for an appointment, which took some time to get, and now we are going through all the hoops trying to figure out exactly what is causing this issue.

Here’s what we know so far.

His X-rays show nothing broken and no loose particles. An MRI without contrast showed fluid on his elbow. The medications they gave him haven't helped resolve the fluid issue. Blood work also showed that he does not have an autoimmune issue causing the problem.

The next step is to aspirate the fluid from his elbow and have it tested—which happens later this morning. After that, we may need to do an MRI with contrast to get a better look at the tendons surrounding the elbow.

So, what initially seemed like a minor issue could very well be just that—a minor issue.

But it could also be that his elbow is so pointy that it's irritating his tendon or there could be a small tear in one of his tendons that is being irritated by the movement of his elbow. In the case or the first scenario, that could possibly mean surgery to round the bony part that is irritating the tendon. In the case of the second scenario, we are fairly sure that it would simply require some rest time for it to heal. With either case that would mean Tim is done competing for the remainder of this year. 

And that's hard.

Not just because he loves competing, but because weightlifting has become such a huge part of his life and he absolutely loves it. He has worked incredibly hard to get where he is, and he has some pretty big dreams for where he wants this journey to take him.

So we’re asking our family and friends to pray in agreement with us🙏.

Pray for quick healing of Tim’s elbow. Pray that the underlying cause is revealed to his orthopedic doctors so they know exactly how to treat it. Pray for wisdom for everyone involved in his care.

And pray that he comes back stronger than he was before.

It is also our prayer that, Tim heals in time to train and prepare for The Arnold in March 2027. This will be the 50th Anniversary of the event, and being able to compete there would be an incredible opportunity.

Tim's passion is weightlifting. His dream is to compete at Worlds and, someday, carry the title of Olympian.

We don't know what this detour is going to look like yet.

But we do know Who holds the road ahead.

God has brought Tim through so much in his young life. We have watched God's hand on him in ways that are impossible for us to deny. And while we don't understand why he is dealing with this injury right now, we trust that God does.

I truly believe God has a plan for Tim’s life—and that plan is bigger than a medal, a competition, a championship, or even weightlifting itself.

This injury doesn't erase everything Tim has accomplished. It doesn't take away the work he has put in. It doesn't change who he is.

It's simply an unexpected part of his journey.

And maybe, just maybe, this is another opportunity for Tim to learn that strength isn't always found on a platform.

Sometimes strength looks like sitting on the sidelines when you'd rather be lifting.

Sometimes it looks like patience when you want answers.

Sometimes it looks like trusting God when you don't understand what He's doing.

And sometimes the biggest victories have nothing to do with medals.

Scot and I know that Tim will continue to honor God and his family through this journey because he knows just how much God's hand has been on his life. He's seen God carry him through things before, and we believe God will carry him through this, too.

So for now, we're taking it one day at a time, trusting God, praying for healing, and believing that Tim's story isn't over.

This is just another chapter.

And whatever comes next, we'll be right there beside him.

More Than the Medals

This quote hits home with me because it describes exactly how we've tried to raise Tim.

We've never wanted to raise a child whose entire identity was wrapped up in winning. We wanted to raise a young man who could face life—both the good and the hard—and know that he could handle whatever came his way.

Unfortunately, that's not always the message Tim received from coaches along the way.

Some of the coaches he's had put so much emphasis on winning that the message became, If you don't win, you didn't accomplish anything worth accomplishing. And honestly, that mentality turned both Tim and us off big time.

Winning is great. Who doesn't love to win? 

But winning isn't the only measure of success.

The coach Tim has now understands that. He doesn't focus solely on the wins. He focuses on the gains—the progress, the improvements, the little victories that happen along the way. He's more interested in helping Tim become better than he was yesterday than simply making sure he beats everyone else.

That's the kind of coach every athlete should have.

I wish Tim could have had a coach like this all along because I think there's something incredibly valuable about learning early that your worth isn't determined by a scoreboard, a podium or a medal.

The goal was never to raise an athlete who wins all the time.

The goal was to raise someone who knows they can handle anything life throws at them.

That's the ultimate goal.

Because one day the competitions will end. The training will slow down. The medals will eventually stop coming.

And yes, those medals will hang on a wall and tell a story. They'll remind us of the hard work, the sacrifices, the early mornings, the disappointments, the victories and all the moments in between.

But at the end of the day they're still just medals.

They are not who you are.

When there are no more competitions and no more medals to win, you have to be able to look at the person you've become and love who you are.

What kind of person are you when nobody is keeping score?

What kind of heart do you have?

How do you treat people?

Do you encourage others to succeed, even when they're competing against you?

Do you get back up when you fail?

Can you handle disappointment without allowing it to define you?

Can you celebrate someone else's success?

Can you walk away from something knowing you gave it everything you had, even if the outcome wasn't what you wanted?

That's what matters.

I want Tim to leave behind more than a collection of medals for people to talk about.

I want people to talk about his character.

I want them to say he had an amazing heart for people. That he cared about others. That he encouraged people. That he wanted to see others succeed. That he worked hard, stayed humble and didn't let either success or failure determine his worth.

Our son is an athlete, and he's had some incredible successes in his sports journey. We're incredibly proud of what he's accomplished.

But there's so much more to him than what he can lift, how much he can lift, how many competitions he's won or how many medals hang on his wall.

You just have to take the time to get to know him.

And that's what we've always wanted for him—not simply to raise a winner, but to raise a young man who knows who he is, whose worth isn't determined by what he accomplishes, and who knows that no matter what life throws at him, he can handle it.

Because at the end of the day, the medals may tell part of his story.

But his character tells you who he really is.

(I made the concept—AI helped sharpen it up)

The Journey Behind the Lift

Tim's plans are to lift at this year’s State Championships—prayerfully🙏. A lot will depend on how his elbow responds to rehab between now and then, but he’s signed up regardless.

Before Tim went to Nationals, he had already started having some issues with his elbow. We thought we had gotten everything lined out with his body guy, but once he returned home and got back into training, the problem got worse.

I shared a little about what was going on in an earlier blog post. If you missed it, you can read it here: When Strength Looks Different.

Thankfully, rehab is going well. Just not quite as quickly as Tim would like😊.

The next step is getting an MRI scheduled while he continues working with PT. At this point, Tim wants to know exactly what he’s dealing with—and quite frankly, so do we. Having some answers would help us understand what’s going on and what the best path forward looks like.

For now, Tim is hoping and praying that his elbow will allow him to compete. If he does get to lift, he’ll be taking a very conservative approach with his numbers. As much as he wants to compete, he doesn’t want to push things and cause further injury.

For someone who loves to lift and compete as much as Tim does, being patient through an injury is not easy. But sometimes strength looks different.

Right now, strength looks like showing up for rehab, being patient, listening to his body, and trusting God with the outcome.

God has blessed Tim with an amazing athletic ability, and we don't believe that gift is an accident. We believe God has a purpose for Tim's life, and we believe that purpose includes this athletic journey he is on. We don't know exactly where God is going to take him through it, but we know that God does have a purpose and plan.

Maybe this season is about competing. Maybe it's about learning patience. Maybe it's about perseverance. Maybe it's about something we can't see yet. Whatever it is, we want Tim to remember that his identity and purpose are bigger than a platform, a PR, or a championship.

We're praying for total healing, answers, and the opportunity for Tim to step onto that platform at State Championships for his 4th straight time. 

Whatever happens, though, we trust that God is using this journey Tim's on for something bigger than we can see right now💪🙏. 

YOU CAN DO ANYTHING

“You can do anything.”

Those are words we have told our son over and over again as he has grown into the man he is today.

Not because we believed life would always be easy for him. Not because we thought he would never fail, face disappointment, or have moments when he questioned himself.

We told him because we wanted him to believe something that is so easy to forget:

Your circumstances don't get to decide what you are capable of becoming.

From the time he was little, we wanted him to know that we believed in him. We wanted him to understand that when something is hard, that doesn't automatically mean you should quit. Sometimes hard simply means you have to work harder, try again, learn something new, or find another way.

There have been times when he didn't believe he could do something himself. But that's when we would remind him:

“You can do anything.”

Those words weren't meant to tell him that he would always get exactly what he wanted.

They were meant to tell him that he shouldn't put limits on himself before he ever gives himself a chance.

You may not be the smartest person in the room.

You may not be the strongest.

You may not have the most money, the most opportunities, or the easiest circumstances.

You may even have people who tell you that you can't.

But none of those things mean you should stop trying.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle standing between us and what we want to accomplish isn't our circumstances. It's the voice in our own head telling us we're not capable.

That's why I think it is so important to speak life into our children.

Tell them you believe in them.

Tell them they are capable.

Tell them that failure isn't the end.

Tell them that falling down doesn't mean they can't get back up.

And most importantly, teach them that success isn't always about winning. Sometimes success is simply refusing to quit.

As parents, we can't walk through every door for our children. We can't protect them from every disappointment or remove every obstacle they will face.

Eventually, they have to walk through those doors themselves.

That's why we wanted our son to carry those words with him:

You can do anything.

Not because we think he can literally do everything without limitations.

But because we want him to approach life believing that he is capable of more than he may realize.

And as I look at the man he has become, I am so thankful we kept saying it.

Because sometimes the words we speak to our children when they're young become the words they hear in their own heads when they're grown.

I hope when life gets hard, he remembers our voices telling him:

“You can do this.”

“Don't give up.”

“Keep going.”

“We believe in you.”

And most of all...

“You can do anything.”

Maybe that's one of the greatest gifts we can give our children—not a life without obstacles, but the confidence to face those obstacles believing they are capable of overcoming them.

And if you're a parent reading this today, don't underestimate the power of your words.

Your child may not always show it.

They may roll their eyes.

They may act like they don't care.

But keep telling them.

Keep encouraging them.

Keep believing in them.

Because one day, they may become the man or woman you always knew they could be—and they'll carry those words with them long after they leave your home.

You can do anything.

Sometimes, they just need someone who loves them enough to believe it until they believe it too.

Tim's Senior Yearbook

 Here are Tim's Senior Yearbook pages from Lighthouse Homeschool Association: 

I still can't believe that we aren't getting ready to go back to school again this year. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I have a feeling it will once everyone else starts heading back to school.

Tim is taking a gap year.

When you say that, most people gasp because they immediately assume it means the person isn't going to pursue further schooling.

Honestly, I don't know what lies ahead for Tim. But I do know that whatever he chooses to do, he will be as focused and driven as he has always been.

We are so incredibly thankful for the blessing it has been to raise this incredible young man. To say we are proud of him is an understatement.

And yes, I know I said the word proud, and I know what the Bible says about pride. I promise you, that's not the kind of pride I'm talking about.

It's the kind of pride that comes from watching your child walk through hard things, learn from them, grow through them, and become someone you genuinely admire.

Tim has been through a lot in his young life. He's learned a lot, too.

He knows what kind of person he wants to be—and what kind of person he doesn't want to be.

He has dreams and goals that he is going after with all of his heart. And I don't believe there is any amount of anything anyone can say or do that will keep him from pursuing those dreams and goals.

For Tim, living a full life means living life on purpose and with purpose.

For him, being an elite athlete isn't just something he does. It's his job, his passion, and what he believes he was put on this earth to pursue. We believe he will continue to strive for greatness in athletics and in life.

And honestly, if he never accomplished another thing from this point forward, he could still look back on his life and know that he has already done more in his time on this earth than most people do in an entire lifetime.

And that's okay.

Everything hasn't always been great. There have been plenty of ups and downs along the way. But the man he is today makes us smile because when we look at him, we know we did something right.

I love the person he is.

I'd love the person he is even if he weren't our son.

He's just that good of a man.

And getting to watch him step into this next chapter of his life is something I don't take for granted.

I may not know exactly where this road is going to take him, but I know Tim.

And wherever he goes, whatever he does, he'll give it everything he's got.

A New Chapter in Weightlifting

A New Chapter in Weightlifting: The IWF’s New Weight Divisions Begin Tomorrow

Weightlifting is about to enter another new chapter.

Beginning tomorrow, August 1, 2026, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will implement a new set of bodyweight categories for senior and junior competitions around the world. USA Weightlifting will also adopt these adjusted categories for sanctioned domestic competitions moving forward.

For those of us who follow the sport closely, these changes are more than just numbers on a chart. Weight classes can impact an athlete's training, nutrition, competition strategy, and even the direction of their career.

The New IWF Weight Divisions

For senior and junior men, the new categories will be:

60kg | 65kg | 70kg | 75kg | 85kg | 95kg | 110kg | +110kg

For senior and junior women, the new categories will be:

49kg | 53kg | 57kg | 61kg | 69kg | 77kg | 86kg | +86kg

These divisions will take effect at IWF competitions beginning August 1, 2026. Those in bold text are the Olympic Categories for the Olympic Teams. 

These new categories will help establish the weight classes that will be used for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

What Does This Mean for Athletes?

For some athletes, the changes may not make much difference at all.

For others, a few kilograms can completely change the game.

An athlete who has spent years competing in one weight class may suddenly find themselves deciding whether to stay where they are, move up, or work toward a new category. The difference between being at the top of one weight class and the bottom of another can affect everything from strength ratios to competition strategy.

And then there are athletes who have already had to navigate multiple changes in a relatively short period of time.

Our son, Tim, is one of those athletes.

He began 2025 competing in the 61kg category before having to move into the 67kg category (which was made the 65kg category in June of 2025 when IWF adjusted the categories). He wasn't, and neither was his coach, on the page of cutting down to 65kg, when he was in the top end of the 67kg category, so he made the hard decision to move, yet again, to the 71kg category. Now, another change is coming.

After August 1, the 71kg category will no longer exist. The new men's divisions will include 70kg and 75kg. 

That means another decision.

Does an athlete try to make 70kg? Do they continue to grow and compete at 75kg? What is best for their strength, development, health, and long-term goals?

Those are decisions that cannot be made simply by looking at a number on a scale.

Weightlifting Is About More Than a Weight Class

One thing I have learned watching Tim compete is that the number beside an athlete's name never tells the whole story.

It doesn't show the hours spent training.

It doesn't show the missed lifts, the injuries, the setbacks, the doubts, or the moments when an athlete has to decide whether to keep going.

It doesn't show the work that happens when nobody is watching.

And it certainly doesn't show the journey.

Tim has already had to learn how to adapt. He moved from Taekwondo into Olympic weightlifting. He changed weight classes. He competed at the national level. He experienced the disappointment of missing lifts and the joy of hitting personal records.

At the 2026 Junior National Championships, he walked onto the platform with something to prove—not to everyone else, but to himself.

He hit a personal record in the Clean & Jerk with 130kg, set a personal record total of 231kg, and became the Junior National Champion in his division.

Now, another change is coming.

And that is one of the lessons weightlifting continues to teach us: you cannot always control the circumstances around you. But you can control how you respond to them.

Every New Division Creates New Opportunities

Change can be frustrating.

Especially for athletes who have worked hard to build themselves into a particular weight class.

But change can also create opportunity.

A new weight division can give an athlete a fresh start. It can change the competition landscape. It can open the door for someone who may have previously been caught between categories.

Sometimes the path forward is not about forcing yourself to remain exactly where you are.

Sometimes the path forward is about taking a look at where you are, where you want to go, and what is best for the next stage of your journey.

That applies to weightlifting.

And honestly, it applies to life.

The Weight Class May Change. The Goal Doesn't Have To.

August 1 will bring another change to the sport of weightlifting.

There will be new categories.

New decisions.

New strategies.

New opportunities.

For athletes like Tim, the question will be whether 70kg or 75kg is the right path forward.

But regardless of what number appears beside his name, one thing will remain the same.

The work.

The discipline.

The determination.

The willingness to step onto the platform and give everything he has.

Because ultimately, the weight class is just a number.

The real measure of an athlete is found in the work they are willing to put in, the challenges they are willing to face, and how they respond when the path doesn't go exactly as planned.

Weightlifting has already taught Tim—and our entire family—that progress rarely happens in a straight line.

Sometimes the categories change.

Sometimes the goals change.

Sometimes the plan changes.

But the journey continues.

And I have a feeling this next chapter is going to be another exciting one.