Inducted into the Weightlifting Hall of Fame: November 15, 2024
Wayne D. Vizzini distinguished himself in college as an accomplished weightlifter in the 132lb. as well as the 148 lb. class at the University of Southwestern Louisiana from 1968-1972. Wayne began his weightlifting career in his junior year of high school in New Orleans where he won the Louisiana Novice Championships in the 123 lb. class. Wayne was coached by C.J. Bennett, who was also a Louisiana weightlifting icon, throughout his weightlifting career. (continued below photos)
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During his time at USL (1969-1972), Wayne was a member of two National Collegiate Championship Teams:
1970-National Team Champions, Princeton University- 2nd place in the 148lb class
1971- National Team Champions, Virginia Commonwealth University-2nd place in the 148lb class
1972-National Championships, Cornell University, 2nd Place in the 148lb. class
During his time at USL, Wayne was four-time State and Regional Champion while winning every meet in his region comprising four states.
After USL, Wayne continued to compete in weightlifting performing in the following championships:
1969 U.S. Teenage National Championships-Des Moines, IA-132 lb. Class-4th place
1969 YMCA National Weightlifting Championships-New Orleans, LA-148lb. Class- 2nd place.
1978 Junior National Championships-San Francisco, CA
1979 Junior National Championships-Chicago, IL-148 lb. Class- 2nd place.
1979 Senior National Weightlifting Championships-Totowa, NJ-165 lb. class- 6th place.
1980- United States Olympic Trials-Philadelphia, PA– Lifted in the 165 lb. class-Snatch-264 lbs. Clean & Jerk-314 lbs. Total-578 lbs. 7th place.
1981 America’s Cup International Weightlifting Championships-Mexico City, Mexico- 165 lb. class- 2nd place.
1982 America’s Cup International Weightlifting Championships-Mexico City, Mexico-165 lb. class- 3rd place.
1969-1982-Louisiana State Champion-14 consecutive years
1969-1982-Southern AAU Regional Champion-14 consecutive years
1994-American Masters Championship-Baton Rouge, LA-165lb. class-1st place.
1995-U.S. Masters National Championships-Savannah, GA-181 lb. class-2nd place.
Wayne’s best all-time lifts at 163 lbs. are Snatch-264lbs and Clean and Jerk-325lbs. Wayne was selected to the 1995 USA Masters World Championship Team to compete in the Master’s World Weightlifting Championships in Toronto, Canada (did not attend due to an injury)
After graduating from USL with a B.S. in Health and Physical Education, Wayne taught and coached at the high school level for eleven years. From 1974 until 2017 Wayne was a medical sales representative in which he won numerous sales awards and trips. He is also a baseball umpire for 33 years having umpired from the college level down to Little League baseball.
Wayne has been married to his wife Kathy for over 50 years and they have two wonderful children, Nicole and Chris. Wayne and Kathy are both retired and spend much of their time boating on the Amite River waterways and traveling throughout the country. They now reside in Gonzales, LA.
Wayne always thought of five words when approaching the bar before each lift in his weightlifting career and he still lives by those five words today, “It Will Not Beat Me!”