ORLANDO, Fla. (July 19, 2023) - Amateur Athletic Union Strength Sports today announced the winners of the 2023 National Strength Sports Awards and the newly elected AAU Strength Sports Hall of Fame inductees.

The two newly elected members of the AAU Strength Sports Hall of Fame are Ken Snell and Mark Bryant. Snell, 65, of Lakeland, Florida, has 48 years of Amateur Athletic Union powerlifting competition, beginning as a teenager. He has competed in more than 200 powerlifting competitions, holds 17 national titles, and has set dozens of American and world powerlifting records and earned multiple best lifter awards. He has also trained high school, college, and professional athletes for more than 20 years, and has been a regular volunteer with the Special Olympics of Florida.

Bryant, 64, of Seattle, Washington, has multiple AAU world powerlifting titles, three AAU world powerlifting records, and a host of Washington State championship titles and records spread over seven years of AAU competition. Heavily involved in the Seattle senior fitness and powerlifting community, Bryant has earned dozens of fitness certifications, including NASM and ISSA personal training certification, certified exercise therapist, certified senior fitness specialist, and AAU National powerlifting judge, and he is also a member of the AAU Washington State Strength Sports Hall of Fame, and the Washington State Strength and Power Hall of Fame.         

This year’s Strength Sports National Athlete of the Year competition was keen, with panel judges reviewing the records of multiple athletes, with votes in numerous categories being extremely close.

The 2023 AAU Strength Sports Athletes of the Year winners are:

2023 AAU Powerlifting Senior Male National Athlete of the Year: Raymond Fougnier
2023 AAU Bodybuilding/Physique Senior Male National Athlete of the Year: Rodney Gaines
2023 AAU Powerlifting Junior Female National Athlete of the Year: Gianna Shenfield
2023 AAU Weightlifting Junior Female National Athlete of the Year: Mikaella Bowens
2023 AAU Bodybuilding/Physique Senior Female National Athlete of the Year: Mary Warneke

Additionally, the judging panel selected one Overall Male and one Overall Female National Athlete of the Year from among all Athlete of the Year winners. The 2023 AAU Strength Sports Overall Male National Athlete of the Year is Dr. Rodney Gaines, of Hampton, Virginia, and the 2023 AAU Strength Sports Overall Female National Athlete of the Year is Mary Warneke, of Vista, California.

The awards will be presented, and Hall of Fame induction will occur Saturday, September 30, during the AAU World Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Feats of Strength Championships at the Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV.

The AAU has the longest-standing history of conducting strength sports competitions in the United States, dating to the early days of Olympic weightlifting and bodybuilding (1930s), and the first powerlifting competitions ever held (1960s).

The AAU Powerlifting Hall of Fame was established in 2012 to recognize those who influenced the sport of powerlifting, and in 2015, it was expanded to become the AAU Strength Sports Hall of Fame, including the very best across all AAU Strength Sports disciplines – AAU Weightlifting, AAU Powerlifting, AAU Bodybuilding/Physique, and AAU Feats of Strength/Strongman/Strongwoman/Combine.