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Women in Sports

Athletes Sharing Thoughts

Photo: Courtesy of Quino Al
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Kate Vibert,

Professional USA Weightlifting Athlete

After ending a decade-long gymnastics career when I was a teenager, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. I found weightlifting through CrossFit classes I took to get back into shape since I had not been in gymnastics for months.

I quickly got hooked — I loved the feeling of being strong and seeing progress through my personal records. After I placed at Youth Nationals in 2016, I knew I had to give this sport a decent shot. With such a strong passion and some talent, I wanted to see what I could do if I gave weightlifting my all.

There isn’t a day I don’t think about how much I love weightlifting, and there is not a single sport I’d rather be doing. I am eternally grateful for the opportunities it has given me and how fulfilling it has been in my life. 

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Christina Muccini

National Coaching Staff USA Karate

As a child, I watched world champion tennis players get ready for the U.S. Open at a private tennis court in Queens, New York, and this made me want to be an elite athlete.

I tried a karate class when I was 9. The sensei was a world champion and told me I could do the same. I competed internationally at the age of 12 and, for the next 16 years, my life revolved around training and traveling for Team USA.

In 2007, I was asked to be a national coach for Team USA. It felt natural and gratifying to help others achieve success. I made history by coaching the the U.S. women’s team to a bronze medal at the world championships in 2010.

Overall, athletics as a lifetime endeavor made me a better person. It taught me how to push beyond my limits, achieve success, rebound from failures, and, most importantly, to believe in myself.

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Anne Warner Cribbs

USATT Board Chair

I got involved with table tennis when I led the San Francisco bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. After our U.S. bid “won the silver medal,” The Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee was asked by the International Table Tennis Federation to host the 2007 World Junior Table Tennis Championships, which were held at Stanford University.

After a hosting a very successful World Championships, I became involved in Ping Pong Diplomacy, celebrating the opening of international relations between the United States and China in 1975.

An invitation to join the Board of Directors of USATT came in 2012 and I became the Board Chair of USATT in 2013. 

Staff, [email protected]

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