Tara Cunningham

Tara Cunningham

Personal information
Born	(1972-05-10) May 10, 1972
Medal record Women's Weightlifting Representing the United States Olympic Games 2000 Sydney – 48 kg Pan American Games 1999 Winnipeg – 48 kg 2003 Santo Domingo – 48 kg

Tara Nott Cunningham (born Tara Nott, May 10, 1972 in Del Rio, Texas) grew up in Stilwell, Kansas. She was an Olympic weightlifter for the United States in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. She is the only athlete to have trained for three different sports at the United States Olympic Training Center (gymnastics, soccer, and weightlifting). Her coaches were Mike Gattone and Bob Morris. She attended Blue Valley Middle and High Schools in Stilwell, KS and Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. She is married to free style wrestler Casey Cunningham.

In 2000, she became the first US weightlifter to win Olympic gold since Chuck Vinci in 1960. The original gold medal winner, Bulgaria's Izabela Dragneva, was stripped of her gold after testing positive for furosemide and the gold was awarded to Nott.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics she ranked 10th in the 48 kg category.

Weightlifting achievements

• Olympic Champion (2000)
• Pan Am Games Champion (1999, 2003)
• Olympic Games team member (2004)
• World Championships Team Member (1997–1999, 2003, 2004)
• Senior National Champion (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002–2004)
• Multiple All-Time Senior American record holder in snatch, clean and jerk, and total