BC TEAM

Cheryl Haworth was born on April 19th, 1983 in Savannah, Georgia, USA. Haworth began her weightlifting career in 1996 at the age of 13 and started traveling internationally for competition at 14. She began breaking American Records at 15, Pan-American Records when she was 16 and still holds the snatch American and Pan American Record of 128kgs. Haworth is still credited with a Youth World Record, also in the snatch, of 125kgs made at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 when she was 17 years old.

Until the Rio 2016 Olympics, Cheryl had remained the last American to win an Olympic weightlifting medal (Bronze, 2000 Sydney) and still is the last American to win a medal at the World Championships (Bronze, Doha, Qatar). Cheryl is a Goodwill Games Champion, Pan American Champion, two-time Junior Worlds Champion and competed in the Olympics three times. In 2004 Athens, Haworth earned 6th overall and came up with a fourth-place finish in 2008 Beijing.

Cheryl was also the national champion from 1998-2008, eleven times consecutively. She has been a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live! with Regis and Kathy Lee (breaking the American Record Clean and Jerk live on television) interviewed by Tom Brokaw, Bob Costas, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer and others. Cheryl has been photographed by Annie Leibowitz, Howard Schatz and Mary Ellen Mark, to name a few and has appeared in numerous books, magazines, newspapers and other publications.

Cheryl is presently a weightlifting coach in Atlanta, Ga. running Haworth Weightlifting Barbell Club (@haworthweightlifting), teaching seminars, coaching clinics and traveling in an effort to promote the sport of Olympic weightlifting.

Ayse Sukola was born on September 18th, 1980, and raised in Ankara, Turkey. She arrived in the United States when She was 21 to complete her internship after earning her Food and Beverage Management and Hospitality degree.

Originally her sports background was swimming. So beginning at age of 5 she started to swim. For the next 14 years, she swam, living within an intense training program for over a decade. She placed 3rd 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter medley Junior European Championship in 1994. Ayse has placed 1st and 2nd consistently in National and Local ranking at youth & junior championships 1990-1998

Her new passion, love, and joy through Olympic Weight Lifting became her career. Ayse earned her CPT (Certified Personal Training) and CES (Corrective Exercise Specialist) certificates through NASM, USA Weightlifting Sports and Performance Level 2, and is on her way to becoming a National Coach. She has a Crossfit Level One Certification, and also decided to get a certification from one of the top Nutrition Companies – Precision Nutrition & Healthy Steps Nutrition. Ayse has been coaching hundreds of people with their weight loss journey, Olympic Weightlifting, and health and fitness journey. 

Ayse Sukola is a veteran coach who has dedicated nearly a decade to coaching athletes at all levels. In addition to teaching beginners the skills they need to advance, she has also coached youth and senior athletes in USAW National Championships and the American Open Finals. She is committed to the continued development and growth of the sport of Olympic weightlifting by introducing new athletes to the joy of lifting and helping them gain the skills they need to meet their goals.

Besides coaching at her gym Cherokee Barbell Strength and Nutrition, She is a Board Member for GA WEIGHTLIFTING – WSO, teaching USAW Level 1 Coaching Courses with Rachel Bammocino, coaching clinics, and Co-Partner at Barbell Collective.

Robert Hall is a Level 2 USAW Weightlifting Coach and candidate for National Coach status. As an athlete, Robert has enjoyed a 20 year tenure as an Elite Athlete on the Youth, Junior, University, and Masters levels, winning medals on the national and international stage.

Robert is the Founder and Head Coach of Atlanta Performance, and in his ten years as a coach has produced athletes on the national and international levels. Outside of weightlifting, Coach has produced multiple youth athletes from middle and high school into the collegiate level, earning scholarships for football, basketball, and baseball.