By DAVID RANDALL
Nick Dunn, a 5-foot-4-inch, 144-pound Brigham City native, was too small for high school football, but he's still not one to push around.
The 23-year-old hefted 540 pounds-almost four times his weight-when he set a World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters record in December.
The feat came after only three competitions in the past three years and without the aid of a compression suit, which can act like a spring and increase lifting capacity. Dunn wore an old wrestling outfit from high school.
'I felt kind of like the new guy in a way,' he said. ' I saw that I was close to the world record and just decided to go for it.'
Dunn, who decided competing would be a good incentive to get back in shape after serving a two-year mission in Nashville, Tenn., is now hoping for bigger prizes.
He has his sites set on the 2004 Olympic games in Athens.
'My goal is to go for the Olympics and see what happens,' Dunn said. 'It's always kind of been a dream.'
The challenge for Dunn in entering the Olympics is not simply in being strong enough. He has to transfer his power-lifting skills in events such as the dead lift and bench press-typical bodybuilder activities-into Olympic lifting skills in the snatch and the clean and jerk, which require more technical mastery.
'The skills are the biggest part of doing these to lifts,' Dunn said. 'Without the technique you're not really going to do anything.'
And preparation time is running out. The national championship, from which 20 men will be chosen for the Olympic qualifying trials, is less than three months away.
David Turner, a 20-time Utah Olympic lifting champion and head of the Hercules Barbell Club in Sandy, will start working with Dunn this week to help him prepare for the upcoming competitions.
While Turner has yet to coach an Olympian, he has helped lead his group to 20 state club championships in the last 24 years, and hopes to help Dunn add skill to his strength.
'Evidently he's got a lot of power,' Turner said. 'We've got to see if we can transfer that into the Olympic lifts.'
Turner said because the United States can only send three men from eight weight classes to the Olympics, Dunn must not only be the best in his weight class, but relatively better than those in other weight classes.
'You have to not only win your weight class ... you have to be the best,' Turner said.
But Dunn doesn't seem shaken by the odds against him. He said if he doesn't make it this year, he will keep working toward the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
'Trying to get two new skills in 11 weeks and moving on to the Olympics in six months is pretty tough,' he said. 'Four years from now I'll have the muscle density and the skills.'
Dunn plans to attend college, but for now has put school on hold while he trains, lives with his family and works at the Brigham City Wal-Mart.
He attributes his success and strength to support from his family, along with his determination and god-given talent.
'I think I have a lot of natural strength,' he said, 'but a lot of it is help from my heavenly father and ... determination.'
Dunn said he likes weightlifting, because more than being a competition with others, it is a competition with oneself and a way to help and inspire others.
'You can succeed in making yourself better,' he said. 'When you know how to help yourself become better, then you can show others.'
Jon Cunningham, 39, a friend of Dunn's and follow champion weightlifter, lauded his gym mate for his strength and determination.
'He's probably the only individual beside myself that loves lifting as much as he does,' Cunningham said. 'He'll rewrite the records for the dead lift in any state.'