Ursula Garza Papandrea

Ursula is a former two-time national champion, two-time Olympic Festival champion, 5 time world team member and former record holder in both the snatch and the clean and jerk. She was an elite international athlete who distinguished herself as a coach in 2003 by becoming the first and only woman to attain USA Weightlifting’s highest coaching level, Senior International Coach Level 5. Ursula has extensive national and international experience in competitive weightlifting as an athlete since 1987, and 20+ years of coaching experience at national and international levels. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise and Sports Science, and her Masters Degree in Political Science, and has had a career as a Professor at Austin Community College since 1994. She revived her competitive career to become Master’s national champion and best lifter in 2009, national champion again in 2010, and once more breaking national and unoffical world records in 2013. She became CrossFit Level 1 certified in 2010 and served as part of the CrossFit Olympic Lifting Certification Staff 2009-2015, in addition to teaching the USAW Level 1 and 2 Sports Performance courses. Ursula has served on the USAW Board of Directors since 2009 and has been held the position of President since 2015. In 2017, Ursula was the first ever female elected as Vice President of the International Weightlifting Federation, a position she currently holds, and is also the IWF Women’s Commission Chair.