AAU Strength Sports Elects Four Athletes to AAU Strength Sports Hall of Fame; Brother Bennett Recipient, Athletes of the Year and Meet Directors of the Year Also Announced
 
Amateur Athletic Union Strength Sports announced today the recipients and winners of the 2021 National Strength Sports Awards. Four new members were inducted into the Strength Sports Hall of Fame; the AAU Strength Sports Hall of Fame class of 2021 inductees are Dave Mayor, of Pennsylvania; John Biaselli of New Jersey; Dr. Jerry Moylan, of Ohio; and Lorenzo Gaspar, of California.  

Dave Mayor, from Philadelphia, PA, competed in weightlifting at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as one of the few Jewish athletes. He won the 1937 AAU Weightlifting Championships as a heavyweight; he served as Director of the U.S. Senior National AAU Weightlifting Championships for many years and served as the President of the Middle Atlantic AAU during the period that AAU first introduced sanctioned powerlifting competition in 1965. Mayor also served as team manager for the 1967 Pan American weightlifting team, was an official at the 1972 Olympics, and was meet director for the AAU Olympic Trials in 1976.

John Biaselli served with the U.S. Marine Corps during WW II and Korea and was a former US Olympic weightlifting coach and a longtime AAU weightlifting coach in Bellmawr, NJ. Biaselli brought AAU Olympic Weightlifting to New Jersey, hosting numerous AAU weightlifting meets.  During the 1970’s and 1980’s, he was a member of the Middle Atlantic AAU Weightlifting committee; his weightlifting students paid one dollar for their membership card, and he coached numerous students to compete at national and international levels.  Later in life, he moved to San Diego, and in 2005, at the age of 84, authored the book "The Natural Road to the Classic Male Body" which is still available for purchase on AMAZON.

Doctor Jerry Moylan, of Sharonville, OH, has been winning AAU world titles in powerlifting and Feats of Strength since 2012, winning 27 individual world titles and setting more than 70 American and world records in six different sports - powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, Feats of Strength, strongman, Mas wrestling, and bodybuilding. He is also a 4-time Beast Trophy winner, awarded to the best male multi-sports athlete at the AAU Strength Sports World Championships.

Lorenzo Gaspar became involved in AAU bodybuilding in 1982, and he has served the bodybuilding community with his coaching and judging expertise as one of the most sought- after judges worldwide. Gaspar has served as head judge at multiple World Championship competitions, including those held in Australia, France, Greece, Korea, and Switzerland, and has a proven track record of creating champion athletes. When AAU bodybuilding returned in 2017, he rededicated himself to the growth of AAU natural bodybuilding, organizing events, supporting the setup and teardown of venues, leading as a judge and coach, and even serving as a professional photographer at shows. In 2018, Gaspar brought I Compete Natural (ICN) - the largest international natural bodybuilding organization - to the U.S. to team up with AAU, opening the door for AAU athletes to travel and compete internationally.    

Lynn Castellanos is the recipient of the 2021 Brother Bennett Award, given for exceptional volunteerism to AAU Strength Sports.  Castellanos’ passion for supporting at-risk youth is seen through the AAU-affiliated non-profit organization that she and her daughter Chantelle have run in Solvang, CA, for more than a decade, where they have trained youth in AAU martial arts and powerlifting. She has shaped the lives of hundreds of young people without pay and introduced dozens of children and teenagers to AAU powerlifting.  Her non-profit also bought a gym that is open to all youngsters who are willing to work hard, many of whom have become AAU champions. 

This 2021 AAU Strength Sports Athlete of the Year competition was keen, with numerous top-level athletes competing.  This year’s AAU Strength Sports Athletes of the Year winners are:

2021 AAU Feats of Strength Senior Male Athlete of the Year: Duane Burlingame
2021 AAU Powerlifting Senior Male Athlete of the Year: Coby Carden
2021 AAU Men’s Bodybuilding/Physique Senior Athlete of the Year: Les Jennings
2021 AAU Women’s Bodybuilding/Physique Senior Athlete of the Year:  Megan Johnson-McCullough

The judging panel also selected one Overall Male and one Overall Female Athlete of the Year from among all Athlete of the Year nominations. Megan Johnson-McCullough, of California, was named the 2021 Overall Women’s Strength Sports Athlete of the Year, while Coby Carden, of Oklahoma, was named the 2021 Overall Men’s Strength Sports Athlete of the Year.  

Johnson-McCullough dominated AAU Women’s Physique competition over an 18-month window beginning in 2019, winning multiple divisions at AAU Bodybuilding and Physique competitions in 2019 and 2020, including Fitness Angels, Figure, Sports Model, Classic Swimwear and overall Women’s Physique Champion. She is a NASM Master Trainer, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and AFAA Group Exercise Instructor who has also twice been a semi-finalist in the prestigious AAU Sullivan Award voting as one of the top female athletes in the country.

The 2021 Men’s Overall Athlete of the Year Coby Carden is a 2016 AAU Strength Sports Hall of Fame inductee who has competed in AAU Powerlifting since 1974 and has won dozens of national and world titles.  Over the past 18 months, Carden won multiple world titles in powerlifting and Feats of Strength, winning the 2019 AAU North American Powerlifting Championships, the 2019 and 2020 AAU International Powerlifting Championships, the 2019 and 2020 AAU World Powerlifting Championships, and 2019 and 2020 AAU World Feats of Strength Championships, breaking multiple national and world records and winning awards for outstanding competitor at all four world championship meets.

Jake Elston and Hal Pittman received the AAU Strength Sports Meet Director of the Year honors for re-introducing AAU powerlifting in Phoenix, AZ with their 2020 AAU West Coast Record Breakers and 2020 AAU National Military Powerlifting Championship meet. 

The awards will be presented Saturday, September 25 during the AAU International Bodybuilding Championships being held at the Plaza Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV.