Muller; standout high school weightlifter
15-year-old Bella Muller is already shining on one of the biggest stages as she excels in weightlifting.
Muller has competed in multiple events including the USA Olympic Weightlifting Youth Nationals (held at her club in Carroll in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the USA Olympic Weightlifting Youth Nationals competition in Detroit in 2021, and the same competition this weekend in Las Vegas.
“Competing nationally gives me the opportunity to not only have more competition but to meet new people who are a part of the sport,” Muller said. “Being able to compete locally is a blessing, but it does no justice when comparing to Nationals.”
Muller competed in the USA Olympic Weightlifting Youth Nationals competition in Las Vegas, NV this weekend in the 14-15 age group, weighing in at 134.9 lbs. She made five of six lifts, snatched 61 kilos (134.2 lbs.), Clean and Jerked 74 kilos (162.8 lbs.) and finished with a 135 kilo total (297 lbs.).
With this, she finished in third place in the nation. Overall, she received three medals for her efforts. She took home the silver medal in Snatch, the bronze in Clean and Jerk, and got another bronze medal for third place overall in the Nation out of nine other competitors.
Muller originally comes from Sacramento, Calif. where her passion grew for sports as she used to be involved in gymnastics.
“I started training back in California and fell in love,” she said. “I actually started off with CrossFit and then made my way to Olympic weightlifting.”
Muller has a strong training regimen that helps her be at her best when she competes on the highest stages. She credits her coach Greg Kustra for all that he does.
“My training regimen contains low and high volume strength training in Carroll with Greg,” she said. “He does all of my programming and is the reason I am where I am at in the sport. When preparing for a competition I go to training four days a week, however normally I train three days a week. While we do make the drive to Carroll, some days I train at home in my garage where I have a full set up.”
Kustra gives credit to Muller and believes she has what it takes to compete at an even higher level than where she’s currently at.
“I feel that the next four or five years, depending on her life situation, she can be on top,” Kustra said. “There are some college opportunities to further her career.”
Muller does have goals and future aspirations in her life not just when it comes to weight lifting, but other areas of her life.
“My first goal in lifting was to medal regardless of placing,” Muller said. “Now that I have accomplished that I would love to get first place. With that being said, my education is most important to me. If I can get into a college that offers scholarships/training for it, that would be ideal. I would love to continue training as I get my degree in psychology.”