Recent 北科罗拉多大学 (UNC) graduate Jourdan Delacruz ‘23 has a weekly 大多数人只是阅读它就会感到厌倦. 在过去的十年里，包括 while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Dietetics full-time, Delacruz has been going to the gym twice a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and does single sessions 星期二和星期六. 即使在休息日，周四和周日，她也会花 时间在物理治疗恢复. 

Though the rigorous routine sounds daunting to most, for Delacruz, it’s simply part of her job. 这是有回报的. 德拉克鲁斯是一名职业举重运动员，他可能很快就会 将参加2024年巴黎夏季奥运会. 这将是她第二次上 international stage – she already represented Team USA at the 2020 Olympic Games in 日本东京. 

To qualify for  Paris 2024, a weightlifter must compete in four events and have the highest total points, which is how athletes are scored on two lifts—the  snatch, where the athlete lifts a barbell from the ground to over their head in one continuous motion, and the clean and jerk—a combination lift where they move the weight from the ground to the front of their shoulders (clean) and then shift it from their shoulders to 开销(混蛋). 之后，裁判将运动员的总分与他们的身体相结合 给他们一个世界排名. 每个国家派出三名男女选手 他们的前三名奥运会资格排名.  

Delacruz must compete in a few more events to meet the qualifications for the Olympics. Her last competition is in April, so she will know if she made the cut later that 本月或五月初. 

不过，她已经在路上了. 去年9月，德拉克鲁斯参加了国际比赛 Weightlifting Federation World Championships in Saudi Arabia where she won a bronze 举起88公斤后获得奖牌. (194 lbs.)抓举和112公斤级. (246.9 lbs.) in the 挺举达到了惊人的200公斤. (440.9 lbs.). 精彩的表演 propelled her from seventh place in the world last season to third place in the world this season. 

“It was a big event, and everyone felt the pressure,” Delacruz说. “奥运会 has its own different pressure because it is obviously the Olympics and has media attention. There’s a lot of expectations, but Worlds is equally challenging and has 它给运动员带来了不同类型的压力.” 

但德拉克鲁斯并非一直都是举重运动员. 事实上，她在努力成为一个强者 cheerleader in high school when she discovered her talents for weightlifting. She tried the sport as a way to cross train in hopes of becoming a stronger cheerleader, but quickly realized her new talents and abilities were something she should pursue. 

“I had a lot of talent for [weightlifting] from the very beginning,” Delacruz说. “所以，我真的接受了这一点，并继续做下去.” 

Giving the sport her all, Delacruz made the decision to switch from in-person to online 2015年完成高中学业. 她搬到科罗拉多斯普林斯住了一年 train at the Olympic Training Center alongside athletes who were contenders for the 2016年里约奥运会. 

Although weightlifting was her main passion, Delacruz still wanted to pursue her college education. 为了有时间完成课程和培训，她报名参加了 博天堂官方的在线饮食计划. She says the university has one of the only dietetics programs in the country that 提供在线学士学位. 

“我对食物充满热情，我热爱科学. 营养是一个非常关键的因素 成为职业运动员的最佳表现的组成部分. 所以，对我来说，它是 总是我想要追求的东西.” 

Throughout the past seven years, Delacruz had to master balancing college and her 运动生涯. 因为她的培训是如此耗时，她的教育不得不 非常灵活，这也是德拉克鲁斯选择博天堂官方的另一个原因. 的灵活性 of attending in-person labs at other universities and having online classes at UNC 让她能够追求自己的奥运梦想. 

“I am grateful for the flexibility to pursue both my education and a professional career 在田径运动中，”德拉克鲁斯说. “I decided to take this route since this is something I’m truly passionate about and 我想继续深造，即使要花更长的时间才能拿到学位. 还没有后悔.” 

Combining knowledge from her courses at UNC and her personal experience in training, 德拉克鲁斯推出了她的品牌， Herathlete2023年，她在大学的最后一年. 这个独特的在线平台专注于 支持女运动员. 

“I created Herathlete to cultivate a community where athletes can have these important conversations and get support for themselves if they cannot find it in their own circles,” Delacruz说. 

She wants to focus Herathlete on topics such as periods, menopause, pregnancy, breastfeeding and birth control for athletes since she found these topics were not being discussed 在运动场地. 她想为女运动员创造一个安全的谈论空间 她说，这些话题经常被忽视. 

“Weightlifting has historically been a male-dominated sport and is still mostly made up of male coaches, though our female lifters are breaking world-class standards yearly. This makes the discussion around female-specific topics difficult to convey effectively,” Delacruz说.  

“Female-specific support can be there for athletes, even with limited research compared to our male-counterparts, only if we are having open and honest conversations around 这些“污点”.” 

Related: Going to the Mat, From UNC Wrestler to a 2024 Summer Olympics Hopeful

Recently, Delacruz has created content centered around nutritional needs during pregnancy, being an athlete while breastfeeding, tips for training, information on food insecurity 以及她作为运动员的个人经历. 

She eventually wants to expand Herathlete to provide nutrition services once she becomes 完成硕士课程后的注册营养师. 即使她不知道 when she’ll start pursuing another degree program, she still wants to help wherever she can. 

“Nutrition is for everyone, and I want to provide support for everyone,” Delacruz said. “I wanted to start building this community[now] and when I’m ready to provide 这些服务，我确实有空间." 

Until then though, there is something more timely to which she plans to give her all. With the Paris Olympics right around the corner, she is going to dedicate herself to training, sometimes twice a day, in hopes of seeing the big stage once again. 

“对许多运动员来说，这是一个激动人心的时刻。”德拉克鲁斯说. 随之而来的是 紧张的气氛，精彩的表演和美好的回忆.”