Kyle Ernst, weightlifter and cancer survivor, sets sights on Olympics

Law school graduate student Kyle Ernst is a competitive weightlifter who was diagnosed with cancer and took a three year break to come back even stronger. This Sunday he competed in the National University Championships and placed 2nd, qualifying for the World University Team in Israel in November. Ernst said about weightlifting, "I love doing it. My goal is to make it to the olympics in 2016 and if I stay healthy, I think I have a good shot." His personal best overhead lift is 333 pounds and best clean and jerk is 406 pounds.

In December of 2005 — her son’s senior year of high school — Jordis Ernst said she felt like the world had stopped.

A mark on her son’s back caught her attention, and though the doctor said the mark was insignificant, Ernst’s instincts told her otherwise.

A month after he was offered a full scholarship at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for weightlifting, Kyle Ernst was diagnosed with melanoma.

Jordis Ernst said she was devastated.

“I was sitting at his high school praying, ‘Please, I want to be sitting at a college graduation,’” she said.

But now, about six years later, Kyle Ernst has his sights set on the 2016 Olympic Games, and his coaches think the odds are good.

Steve Gisselman, UNC’s assistant director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports, said of all of the weightlifters he has worked with, Kyle Ernst has the best chance of making the games.

“Historically, the U.S. hasn’t had many people go,” he said.

“But I think his work ethic and with the weight class he’s in, I think he’s got a really good shot.”

Ernst’s journey has not been easy.

After his diagnosis, he left for Colorado Springs, where he gave himself shots three times a week.

He returned to Texas, where he completed his undergraduate education at Texas A&M University to be closer to his family.

“After that, I wanted to focus on getting into law school, and that became my main focus,” he said.

“I guess I just wanted to be more like a normal person — like everyone else.”

But in the summer of 2010, about six months before Kyle Ernst’s five-year examination, doctors noticed a tumor on his hip. It needed to be surgically removed.

The next day, he found out he had been accepted to the UNC School of Law.

Despite his excitement, two and a half years went by without a thought of the weight room.

But last summer, out of the blue, Kyle Ernst decided to start lightly lifting again at Southern Methodist University’s recreation center.

By the end of the summer, he was fully lifting again.

“About three or four months into training, I was already in the top six or seven in my weight class and top 30 overall (nationally),” he said.

And his success has been steady ever since.

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On April 15, he received second place in the National University Championships, where he represented UNC in Shreveport, La.

He was recently selected to be a member of the World University Team to compete in Israel in November.

Jordis Ernst said the journey has been hard.

“Life really is never, ever, ever going to be the same,” she said.

“When it hits you personally, your life does change and you try really, really hard to not let it control your life and just move forward.”

Kyle Ernst said his mentality kept him moving forward.

“It’s just always been my personality —when you’re dealt a bad hand you can’t look back and change it,” he said.

“You just kind of deal with what you have and move on from there.”

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