1) How did you get started in weightlifting?
Carissa: I was 13 years old, and I started after my physical education teacher approached me about picking up weightlifting. So I started when I was in eighth grade and just kept going from there.
Jason: I started when I was nine, and basically just did it to give me something to do in the summer time as an after-school thing, and it just kind of stuck.

2) How did you meet?
C: We had known of each other because we were both in that weightlifting scene. I knew who he was, and he knew who I was, but we had never really met or talked until 2003. We met on our way to the Pan American Games. I saw him in the cafeteria at the Olympic Training Center and sat next to him and just started talking with him. We hit it off.

3) How long did you date before marrying?
J: About a year and a half.
C: Then we got engaged, and we were engaged for a little less than a year and a half. And we've been married almost four months now. So we've only really known each other for three years, but it worked.

4) Jason, how did you propose?
J: It was at her parents' house. I sat down and talked to her dad a few months before and then none of us knew exactly when I was going to propose. Then I just brought it up one day.
C: He had the ring for like three days and then he finally asked me. So we got engaged November 22, 2004. I didn't believe him because he had one of those regular little black boxes that a ring comes in and I would find it occasionally, and get all excited, but then I would open it up and nothing would be there. We even went to the jewelry store a couple of times, and I would sit outside on the bench thinking, "Man, this is killing me." So when he finally proposed, I was just sitting on the couch reading a book, and he slipped the ring on my finger. I was like, "Are you kidding me?" I didn't believe him because of all the other pranks he played. I was excited. I tried to prepare myself because I knew it was coming, but as much as I tried, it wasn't worth it. I was crying--we both were.

5) When was the wedding?
C: It was this past June in Pennsylvania. Neither of us is from there though. My grandmother and my aunt live there, and all of our family and our team lives on the east coast. So it was just a good central location. It was easier for us to go out there than for everyone to come to Colorado. Family is very important to us.
J: We had about 80 people at the wedding. It was a lot of fun.

6) Where was the honeymoon?
C: We actually haven't been yet. We're training still, and we have competitions, but we are going in December on a cruise. It's going to be an insane month. First week in December, we have finals to take because we are both still in school; that weekend, December 2, we have the American Cup competition in Alabama, and then after that we are going on our cruise on December 4th. Being an athlete, it's just hard to take time off. It stinks, but we work around it.

7) What is your training like?
C: We train twice a day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then we train once on Tuesdays and Saturdays. We're on the same schedule and in the gym at the same time but we focus on ourselves. We're in there to work; that's our job so we don't bug each other. You would never know that we were married.

8) Does it help with your training to be married to a fellow weightlifter?
J: Definitely. We are able to give each other advice. If I see something technically wrong on her, then I will let her know, and she does the same for me.
C: He's my mental coach. He's physically and mentally strong. I'm physically strong, but mentally I fall apart sometimes. Jason is my rock for that. Our coach says that, "If I could take Carissa's body and Jason's mind then I would have the perfect athlete." That same coach gave the toast for our wedding and he said, "All I have to say is that I want babies. I want lots of perfect weightlifting babies."

9) What has been your proudest moment in your career?
J: Pan American Games in 2003 were probably my best moment. I was going off a time where I was injury-free for about six months, and I was able to increase my totals pretty substantially over that time. In 2003, Pan Ams I was able to add a 15 kilo personal record in my total, which was probably the highest of any weightlifter there. So that was my career high right there.
C: I'm not sure if I could narrow it down to one moment. I've had a lot of great moments, but probably one of the proudest was lifting at Olympic Trials in 2004. My parents, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle all came to watch, and they were just ridiculously proud of me. I had a very outside chance of making it to the 2004 Olympic Games, but just to say that you have been to the Olympic Trials is special. That is definitely one of my proudest moments. I've medaled in Junior Worlds and won a couple of other competitions, but being at the Olympic Trials is still one of my favorite memories.

10) What is the hardest part about being a weightlifter?
J: When you're good at a certain sport-say baseball or basketball-you're good. There's no real other place to excel. When you're good at weightlifting the only place to go from there is to lift more weights. You know you can always lift more weights. There is always more to do.
C: That's also what makes it so hard for weightlifters to retire because as an athlete you think, "I can do better. I can do more." So I think the hardest part is just knowing when your time is up.

11) What then is the hardest part about being a married weightlifting couple?
J: Criticizing each other.
C: I hate it!
J: She has a hard time taking criticism. I like getting feedback. I think it's a positive thing, but she takes it as a negative.
C: I take it to heart. The only person I want giving me feedback is my coach. If anyone else gives me feedback, I just look at it like they are being insulting and mean.

12) Do you get more nervous with your own competitions or watching each other's competitions?
C: I get so nervous when I watch him. I get more nervous when I watch him lift than I do before I lift.
J: I do the same thing. I know how important it is to her to do well, and if she doesn't do well then she is upset. It's a lot of work getting her back to normal.

13) Do you have any pre-competition rituals?
J: I don't really have any. I know Carissa has more though.
C: Yeah, he is so laid back and easy-going. I'm very intense and focused, but what works for him is not going to work for me and vice versa. I do little things before each competition. I'll try to go through the same routine before each competition: wake up the same time, eat the same thing.
J: I don't like to get into rituals because it's hard to do the same thing each time.
C: When it comes to weightlifting we are very polar opposite. We're both very focused and determined, but in our own ways.

14) Do you think that some of your tendencies have rubbed off on each other?
C: I've tried but it doesn't work on him.
J: It might have more than she thinks--even more than I think. I try not to affect her in any way and vice versa when it comes to competing.
C: And being married weightlifters, he knows that if I'm not doing well to just leave me alone. We respect each other. I usually compete the day before he does, so he just gets out of my way. He'll go do his thing and then we will hang out after I lift. When it's his time to compete, then I will do the same and leave him alone. We don't get in each other's way, and we know each other well enough because we are both lifters to just leave each other alone.

15) What do you think you have to do to make sure you get to Beijing in 2008?
J: I just need to get healthy. If I can get healthy then I will be on the team, and the coaches know this. That's why I've been here as long as I have been.
C: For me, it's confidence. I'm strong enough, but mentally I get scared. As an athlete you have this fear of success and fear of failure. I have both. My coach tells me, "You are your own worst enemy." That's what it comes down to, but I'm going to work on getting my head on straight.

16) What is the heaviest you have ever lifted?
C: My best snatch is 204 lbs., and my best clean and jerk is 260 lbs. My best front squat is about 322 lbs., and my best back squat is 356 lbs.
J: Best snatch is 342 lbs., best clean and jerk 440 lbs., front squat is 480 lbs., and back squat is 540 lbs.

17) What is something that someone would be surprised to know about your spouse?
C: Be nice!
J: She's a girly girl. I don't know if she was before I met her, but ever since I met her she has been such a girl. Most people think because she's a lifter she would be this big, tough guy. She's not nearly as tough as she appears.
C: He's very romantic. He likes to cuddle, too. Oh, and he rubs my feet, too!

18) Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
J: House, kids.
C: Yeah-house, kids, real jobs and a steady income.
J: Maybe done with weightlifting or getting back into it again.
C: We'll still be involved with weightlifting whether it's refereeing or coaching, but it won't be this dedicated. We want to eventually move to the east coast where our family and our coach live, too.

19) So then when you do have kids will you push them towards weightlifting?
J: If they want to do it, then we'll help them. If they find out that we were weightlifters, and they are interested then that is fine, but we won't push them towards it.
C: Our kids will know that we were athletes, but we won't force anything on them. If they are book worms, then they are book worms.

20) Finally, what is the best piece of advice you have ever been told?
J: Probably in whatever you do, don't give up. Keep pushing and eventually whatever you want, you will get. Sometimes you have to push through hard times, and it's difficult, but don't give up.
C: Just believe in yourself. That is what my parents and my coaches have taught me. You can achieve more than you think. If you have self doubt then you are not going to make it nearly as far.