Arab-American lifter sets Olympics as goal
Mahassen Hala Paiva is getting stronger, and Hunter Kemper, at 39 years of age, continues to show his athletic competitiveness.
Both are former area high-school standouts. Both compete in nontraditional but demanding sports.
Paiva (Port Orange Spruce Creek) is a weightlifter whose goal is to become the first female to represent Lebanon in the sport in the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Kemper (Lake Brantley) is a four-time Olympic triathlete.
She earned three personal bests and broke three state records at the East Coast Weightlifting Championships last month at Spruce Creek in the 69-kilogram (152-pound) weight class. Paiva, who weighs 139 pounds, broke records for the snatch, clean-and-jerk and total weight lifted.
Paiva is a former state high-school champion and a junior national champion who represented her father’s home country, Lebanon, at the world championships last November. Paiva, who holds dual citizenship (Arab-American), will compete in the USA nationals in August.
Source: www.orlandosentinel.com