Maya: My name is Maya Laylor and I am an Olympic Weightlifter.
Maya: My mom’s said since I was a little girl I was always shy. I wouldn’t really express myself or go out and talk to someone, they would usually come to me.
Clance: You know I would try to get her into different sports and so on and so forth, but it never really stuck. One day she really got into just working out so I would write her training programs. She would execute the training programs and come back for another one.
Maya: I would workout at my dad’s gym and then he came up to me one day and he said, ‘hey Maya, do you want to try Olympic weightlifting?’ and I was like sure why not. I had no clue what it was, but I always wanted to be really great in a sport. So I tried it, I liked it, and I was good at it.
Clance: Ever since she started weightlifting, her personality has, its really helped her in terms of bringing out more of her personality.
Maya: I like the feeling that it gives me, makes me feel like very strong and empowered. I feel more confident in myself and more outgoing.
Clance: Her progression is phenomenal for an athlete who’s only been training for 3 years she pretty much has got to the level of someone who has actually been training for 10 years. She’s three time Ontario junior champion, two time Ontario senior champion.
Maya: I am senior Canadian champion at the moment in 75 kilo weight class. The junior Canadian champion of the 75 kilo weight class.
Clance: She’s been to the 2014 world championships in Kazan last year. So in three short years, she’s accomplished so much and so fast.
Maya: My biggest goals are making it to the Pan Am games, this upcoming Pan Am games and the 2016 Olympics. The most that I’ve done in total of weight is 195 kilos. To qualify for the Pan Am games is 200 and over and to win a gold medal in the Pan Am games would be 210, around there, but for the Olympics its much more. I’ve come so far in this short three years and with my work ethic I’m pretty confident in making it.