Rohr and Alwine Elected Chair and Vice Chair of USAW Athlete Advisory Council

COLORADO SPRINGS - Estelle Rohr and Meredith Alwine have been elected as the USA Weightlifting Athlete Advisory Council chair and vice chair, respectively. Rohr is a current member of USAW’s National Team Program, while Alwine recently retired from competition as a multi-time national team member and 2021 Senior World Championships gold medalist. Alwine also sits on the USAW Board of Directors as an Elite Athlete Director and is the USAW representative to the Team USA Athletes’ Commission.

Rohr was a competitive cheerleader from middle school all the way through college at North Carolina State University, and started to focus more on weightlifting in her senior year. After graduating in 2017, Rohr fully committed to weightlifting while balancing multiple jobs and even giving up full-time jobs to spend more time training. In 2021, she won 76 kg gold at the USAW national championships, and last year earned a sixth-place finish while representing the United States at the IWF World Cup. 

“I was excited by the opportunity to give back. I think that's my biggest thing,” Rohr said. “Knowing my journey with the sport, I can use this role to help up-and-coming athletes that are in the position I was and do what I can to make sure the athletes feel supported.”

Rohr will be aided by the vice chair, Alwine, who brings a wealth of knowledge about the issues surrounding elite weightlifters after a decorated career that spanned two Olympic quads. In 2018, Alwine won her first international medal when she finished second at the Junior World Championships. Three years later, she became the fifth U.S. woman to win a total world title at the 2021 Senior World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She has also earned gold at the 2020 IWF World Cup and three Pan American Championships, as well as a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games. Alwine will be attending law school at Southern Methodist University in the fall, and believes her interest in the subject has played a role in her serving on the board of directors, athletes’ commission, and now the AAC. 

"It's a very natural next step. Athletes, especially in Olympic sports, face unique challenges with qualifying, funding, and other issues,” Alwine said. “I've always been involved and informed about policy changes… I went through two Olympic quads with very different qualification systems, and I've been through various stipend policies. So, I feel like I have a really good background of someone that is informed, aware, and still has enough relevant experience and recency to be able to advocate effectively and understand these things at hand.”