About the Author
The author has been actively involved in the sport of Weightlifting for more than 60 years, as an athlete, coach, official and administrator. Self-coached throughout is career, he set three Junior World Records (one in the total) in 1970 (becoming the last American male to set a World Record in Weightlifting until 2016).
His first experience coaching others on a National level came at the 1968 Sr. Nationals and he has worked with other athletes at nearly 50 Sr. Nationals since then. The first athlete he coached to an international level (besides himself) was Jr. World Team member Mario Lazzaro, in 1976.
He coached World Champion, and multiple World Recordholder, Karyn Marshall, Olympian Jerry Hannan, National Champion and World Team member Rhiannon Reynolds, multiple Jr. World Team members and Sr. National medalists, along with countless beginners.
He has achieved the highest coaching level recognized by the USAW – Senior International Level. He has served as Chair of the USAW Coaching Committee, and is a USAW Level 1 and Level 2 Coaching Course Instructor. He wrote the USAW Level 1 Coaching Course used between 2012 and 2017, and introduced an accelerated learning by coaching approach for that course.
Mr. Drechsler served as an officer, or member of the Board of Directors, of USA Weightlifting (or its predecessors) for more than 20 years, beginning as an athlete’s rep and ending as the Chair of the Board for two terms.
He has organized and conducted Weightlifting competitions from the local to the national level, serving as the meet director for the 2002 Senior Nationals in NYC.
Mr. Drechsler is recognized by the IWF as an International Category I referee (the highest category of IWF referee, qualified to officiate at all international competitions, including the Olympic Games – he first earned that credential in 1981).
In addition to authoring The Weightlifting Encyclopedia and producing its video companion, the author has been widely published or quoted in publications in the field of weightlifting and fitness including: Strength & Health Magazine, Iron Master, Milo, Weightlifting USA, The Weightlifting News, Men’s Health and Powerlifting USA. He wrote the chapter on using the Olympic lifts and their variations for conditioning athletes “Olympic Lifting For Athletes” that appeared in the certification manual (Sports Conditioning: The Complete Guide) of the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA).
A frequent public speaker, he has spoken at national coaching seminars conducted under the auspices of USA Weightlifting (USAW, formerly known as the USWF), as well as at numerous other coaching clinics, seminars and presentations on the sport of Weightlifting. He has also appeared in podcasts hosted by USA Weightlifting and Philosophical Weightlifting.
Currently, he coaches at the Weightlifting Workshop and authors the Weightlifting.Org and WeightliftingWorkshop.com websites. He is currently writing a book about the recent rise of young American lifters to world prominence, as well as new series of instructional books on how to learn and master Weightlifting.
He is a member of USAW Hall of Fame, where he served as committee chair for more than 20 years.
He attained the highest IWF Technical Official Level of – Category I, in 1981 (he was also a former National level Physique Judge and Powerlifting referee). Artie has also been a meet director for scores of competitions, including the 2002 Nationals in NYC.
He is the current President of Weightlifting.org, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization devoted to the development of Weightlifting.