A North Texas athlete reached the pinnacle of his sport in Estonia last month. Justin Choy is a power-lifter, which is not an Olympic sport. NBC 5’s Noelle Walker explains Choy is always training, whether in the gym or the classroom.
Justin Choy is living his dream in a split-screen kind of way.
He is a glasses-wearing, mild-mannered medical student at the Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. In July, he was part of Team USA at the FISU World University Championships Powerlifting in Estonia.
"It's something I thought about, like, every day since I was 14," Choy said of reaching the top tournament in his sport. "You know, it definitely felt like, um, like I was joining the dark side when I first started."
Choy started powerlifting when he was a skinny high school student. Over the years, he transformed his body into a powerlifting beast, like Superman to his med school 'Clark Kent' persona.
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"There is a difference. When I'm in the gym, and I smell the chalk," Choy said, snapping his fingers. "I flip it on."
Choy fought back from major surgery to win silver at nationals and make Team USA. For Choy, powerlifting and med school are two sides of the same coin.
"You know, powerlifting in high school and college, I got a really great fascination for the human body and what it can do," Choy said, pointing out that powerlifting has helped him in med school.
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"It's the discipline. It's the determination to not give up when things are hard and to not compromise on things that are important."
Powerlifting is not an Olympic sport. Its movements are different from weightlifting, which is in the Olympics. FISU World University Championships Powerlifting is the top of his sport. This year, Choy placed 15th in his weight class.
Choy doesn't know his next powerlifting goal, but graduating from the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and becoming a doctor tops his list.
"I wanted a job that I felt like was making a difference," said Choy.
