Connor Dantzler

Connor Dantzler (born February 23, 1994), of Damascus, Maryland, is a former youth American amateur athlete. In 2000, at the age of six, under the training of his father Mark Dantzler, he won his first junior national title in his age bracket. By 2012, Dantzler had won US national championship titles in judo, jujitsu, and powerlifting and earned awards as an AAU All-America and Athlete of the Year.

Biography

Dantzler discovered powerlifting as a youth while searching the internet with his father for other sports to complement his judo training. As a teen, he earned World and Pan-American gold medals in the sport. He appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" at the age of ten. In 2005, he made a guest appearance on ABC’s The Tony Danza Show. In 2010, Dantzler earned the Joel Ferrell Memorial Award for Outstanding Performance, “…an award that recognizes outstanding athletic accomplishments and sportsmanship at the AAU Junior Olympic Games”. In 2011, he set an American record in his age category at the Collegiate Powerlifting National Championships as a high school student.

Dantzler volunteers as a youth instructor for boys and girls in his hometown of Damascus, MD.