FWHS alum sets sights on junior nationals in powerlifting

If someone saw Peter Vong walking down the street, they might not be expecting to see one of the leading powerlifters in the world at age 18. His path to the top has been a meteoric rise and his next step is right on his doorstep.

So far in his career, he has broken eight Washington state records in the USA Powerlifting Federation.

A Federal Way High School alum, Vong has immense pride in being from Federal Way. Nothing says that more than lifting at the recently closed Fitness 19 in the heart of Federal Way.

Vong started lifting in his sophomore year at FWHS, during the heart of the pandemic. Vong posted videos on social media, amassing 10,000 followers at one point.

“At that point in the pandemic, most gyms were closed, so you really had to work find a gym or a home gym … Once I got in, I was like, okay, I have to prove the coach wrong and myself right,” Vong said.

“I always loved lifting weights growing up in my sports. I was really technical in my sports, which was something that I could apply to powerlifting. It was something I saw success in really fast,” he said.

Vong has dominated since joining the USA Powerlifting circuit. He has the highest total weight for the squat lift at 195 kg (429.9 pounds), and sits at number six overall in the world in his division at 128.5 pounds.

It hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows for Vong. Two months before he competed to take the number one overall spot, he suffered a crucial back injury at the beginning of 2023, his senior year.

He was 50 pounds off the number one spot for overall weight, but had improved his deadlift and had six months until the competition. Then during a deadlift, he heard a crack and fell to the gym floor.

“I was training really hard (to be number one). I honestly really think it was a freak accident. I heard ‘crack, crack, crack.’ Dropped the weight and laid down. My back was purple,” Vong said.

The injury caused Vong to temporarily quit lifting, focusing entirely on the rehab process.

“I tried coming back to lifting. I could lift heavy weight, but my back would start spazzing out. So I had to quit. That’s how I fixed it,” he said.

“I went to a chiropractor full time, got massage therapy and acupuncture. I laid off the weight, and sometimes it humbles you,” Vong said.

Mentally, the injury was draining for Vong. A back injury is a delicate process to recover from — a small wrong move can create immense pain and harm.

“There were moments where I was training for track and my back starts tweaking and I wasn’t even lifting heavy weights … There was a lot of back and fourth,” he said.

Vong’s journey to powerlifting is one of finding his own lane. After butting heads with coaches in team sports growing up and even at the high school level, he found the individual game of powerlifting to be his vice.

That track coach was giving Vong near impossible goals to accomplish as a high school kid, he said, like gaining 30 pounds and adding 200 pounds in his squat total.

There is seemingly a point in every athlete’s career where they have to choose to stop competing or double down and face the challenges presented to them. Vong chose to double down and is nearing the top of his game.

“It motivated me. I wanted to reach those numbers,” Vong said.

As a former sprinter and wrestler, Vong had experience in the weight room. But a competitive atmosphere is different than going in and working out. It takes a certain tempo and precision to execute lifting at the highest level.

The movements and stress that lifting has put on his body have taken a toll, but his passion is still as strong as it could be.

“I redlined by training a lot.(The injury) taught me to chill out … I get neck spasms, back spasms. My body is definitely trashed from powerlifting, but there are ways to work around injury if you’re smart about it. You can still get stronger,” Vong said.

Vong has his eyes set toward the future. After recovering from the back injury, Vong wants to compete at nationals and eventually worlds. To get to nationals, he has to win junior nationals, which takes place in Austin, Texas, on May 17.

“My goal is to win it. I believe I can do it with the progress that I have made. I do have to play a little catch-up in five months. But my mindset with my injuries solidified myself in becoming consistent,” Vong said. “Having belief in yourself is the biggest thing you can do for yourself.”

Vong has a GoFundMe for his trip to Austin and can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/trip-to-powerlifting-jr-nationals.