Melanie Roach (née Kosoff; born December 15, 1974 in

The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

) is an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She lives in

Bonney Lake, Washington Bonney Lake is a city in Pierce County, Washington. The population was 22,487 at the time of the 2020 census. History Bonney Lake was incorporated as a town on February 28, 1949, after the establishment of a co-op venture to bring electricity ...

where she owns Roach Gymnastics, Inc. During high school, Melanie participated in gymnastics, but dislocated her shoulder. After reconstructive surgery, she slowly became interested in weightlifting. She started training in 1994 once meeting coach John Thrush at Calpian Weightlifting Club. By 1998 she was number one in the US, and set the world record, since bested, for the women's clean & jerk by lifting more than twice her weight, 113 kg/250 lbs. She is 5'2" and 117 lbs. Three weeks before the US Olympic Trials in 2000, she herniated a disc in her back, and became an alternate. She then focused on starting a family with husband Dan Roach, who is currently serving his fourth term as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from the 31st District.Washington House Republicans Roach: Biography
, Washington House Republicans. Accessed November 11, 2008. Dan is the son of

Pam Roach Pamela Jean Roach (née Norris, born April 26, 1948) is an American politician who served as a member of the Pierce County Council from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as a member of the Washington State Se ...

, who is serving her fifth term as a Washington State Senator. She then started training again in 2005, made it past the Olympic Trials, and into the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. There, she lifted 83 kg in the snatch, a new personal record, 110 kg in the clean & jerk, and a total of 193 kg, a new personal and American record. She placed 6th out of 9. Roach is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Weightlifting achievements

*Gold Medalist in US Nationals (1998-2000, 2003, 2006-2008)2008 Beijing Summer Olympics , Melanie Roach Competition Results & Scores , NBC Olympics

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. Accessed August 9, 2008. *Participant in World Weightlifting Championships (1998) *13th Place in World Weightlifting Championships (1999) *12th Place in World Weightlifting Championships (2006) *12th Place in World Weightlifting Championships (2007) *Bronze Medalist in Pan Am Championships (2006)2006 Pan American Championships - Weightlifting Exchange
Weightlifting Exchange. Accessed August 9, 2008. *Bronze Medalist in Pan Am Games (2007) *6th Place in

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

(2008)

References

External links

Melanieroach.comM. Roach snatching 78 kg (172 lb)M. Roach after snatching 78 kg (172 lb)Melanie Roach at Weightlifting Exchange

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roach, Melanie 1974 births Living people People from The Dalles, Oregon American Latter Day Saints Olympic weightlifters of the United States Weightlifters at the 2007 Pan American Games Weightlifters at the 2008 Summer Olympics American female weightlifters Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in weightlifting Weightlifters at the 2015 Pan American Games People from Bonney Lake, Washington Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games 20th-century American women 21st-century American women