Connor Dantzler

Connor Dantzler (born 23 February 1994), of Damascus, Maryland, was an accomplished youth American amateur athlete. In 2000, at the age of six, under the tutelage of his father Mark Dantzler, he won his first junior national title in his age bracket. By 2012, Dantzler had won US national championship titles in judo, jujitsu, and powerlifting and earned awards as an AAU All-America[1] and Athlete of the Year,[2]

Biography

Dantzler discovered powerlifting as a youth while searching the internet with his father for other sports to complement his judo training. As a teen, he earned World and Pan-American gold medals in the sport.[3] He appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd"[4] at the age of ten. In 2005, he made a guest appearance on ABC’s The Tony Danza Show.[5] In 2010 Dantzler earned the Joel Ferrell Memorial Award for Outstanding Performance, “…an award that recognizes outstanding athletic accomplishments and sportsmanship at the AAU Junior Olympic Games”.[6] In 2011, he set an American record in his age category at the Collegiate Powerlifting National Championships as a high school student.[7]

Accomplished in the Olympic sport of judo,[8] Dantzler volunteers as a youth instructor to boys and girls in his hometown of Damascus, MD. Since becoming a national judo coach at his father's dojo in 2010, his students have won individual junior national championship titles. The President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition named Dantzler a recipient of the Community Leadership Award[9] for mentoring junior athletes. Dantzler’s past work in the community was reflected in other notable honors, including the PARADE All-America High School Service Team, Prudential Spirit of Community Awards,[10] the Good Samaritan Medal, a US Senate commendation and two State of Maryland Governor’s Citations.

Connor Dantzler's past articles on the benefits of fitness and sports appeared in Natural Muscle Magazine, Real Gainz Fitness Magazine, USA Judo Magazine, USJF Judo Magazine and Muscle and Brawn.[11]

References
  1. Singer-Bart, Susan. "Damascus Judo Students to Represent Maryland in Junior National Championship". Gazette.Net, 2010.http://www.gazette.net/stories/08112010/damanew232545_32539.php
  2. "State Awards". USJA, 2010.http://www.usja-judo.org/Awards/StateAwds2010.pdf
  3. "2010 Joel Ferrell Award Winner for Powerlifting". AAU News, September 09, 2010.http://www.aaunews.org/news/?p=3720
  4. "Faces in the Crowd". Sports Illustrated, December 06, 2004.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1114377/2/index.htm
  5. "2010 Joel Ferrell Award Winner for Powerlifting". AAU News, September 09, 2010.http://www.aaunews.org/news/?p=3720
  6. "2010 Joel Ferrell Award Winner for Powerlifting". AAU News, September 09, 2010.http://www.aaunews.org/news/?p=3720
  7. "Damascus Teen Sets National and State Powerlifting Records". The Baltimore Sun, Varsity Letters, February 09, 2011. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/highschool/varsityletters/2011/02/
  8. Beekman, Jennifer. "Should Young Athletes Wait on Weights?". Gazette.Net, 2010. http://www.gazette.net/stories/08182010/burtspo103215_32533.php Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "President's Council Quarterly". President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, December 2010.http://www.fitness.gov/news-highlights/newsletters/december-2010.html
  10. Cassie, Ron. "Damascus Eighth-Grader Provides the Best Medicine." Frederick News-Post, 2008.http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/storyTools/print_archive_story.htm?storyID=82388
  11. Dantzler, Connor. "Discovering the Power of Powerlifting".Muscle and Brawn, 2009.http://muscleandbrawn.com/discovering-the-power-of-powerlifting/
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