USAWA

By Eric Todd

One of the highlights at this year’s nationals was the induction of our newest Hall of Fame Member, Jeff Ciavattone.  Jeff has been competing in all-round for a few decades now.  He has records dating back to 1991. Jeff has been challenging for top honors for many years now in the USAWA, the IAWA, and Frank’s Barbell Club, and is certainly deserving of this award.

Jeff was born in Norwood, MA on September 14, 1979.  He is the son of Hall of Famer Frank Ciavattone, founder of Frank’s Barbell club.  Jeff grew up in Wapole, and graduated from Wapole High in 1997.  While Jeff played basketball, football, and lacrosse at Wapole High, weightlifting has always been his primary sport. He started lifting with his dad when he was four years old.

Jeff worked for his dad’s construction company for many years before he became a Robotics Engineer.  That gave him the opportunity to travel the world repairing gas mains with robotic technology.  While on a trip to England, he met his wife.  They have now been married for over 5 years and live with their two cats in South Carolina.

In the realm of all-round weightlifting, Jeff was a top 10 lifter at nationals on four different occasions. He was the best overall junior lifter at the national championship in 1996, and top ten in the men’s division  four different times.  He has placed top three in the Heavy Lift championship on several times.  Jeff was the top lifter in the men’s division of the postal championship in both 2018 and 2022.  He was the overall best lifter in the Andy Goddard World Postal Championship in 2021.  He competed regularly in the USAWA national meet, particularly as a junior lifter. He also competed in several world championships. One of Jeff’s biggest claims to fame is a 408 pound world record deadlift-1 arm-right that was done when he was 19 years old that stands to this day.

Jeff is a member of the USAWA century club, currently with 148 national records.  Some of his records that stand out and are records to this day are as follows:

• DL DB left 392
• DL DB Right 425
• DL 1 arm 344 at 16 years of age, and 353 at 18 years
• Hand and Thigh 1200 at 16 years
• Harness lift 2000 at 18
• Hip Lift 1700 at 18
• Kennedy Lift 752
• Zercher of 450

Jeff has been a force in the USAWA and all-round in general for decades now.  He has been a champion many times over, and has carried on the legacy of the Ciavattone name. Jeff attributes much of his success to the support and coaching of his father, Frank, and is quite proud of having done it all without the aid of steroids. Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Jeff Ciavattone!  You have earned it!