What does a guy who was once the strongest child in the world look like at the age of 22

For some reason, it is believed that if a child is instilled with a love of sports from childhood, then he will keep it for life. Life shows that this does not always happen. Ukrainian Richard Sandrak set world records at the age of 11, but now, at 26, he is an ordinary guy. American Jake Schellenschlager, who has been training since the age of 12, remains faithful to dumbbells and barbells at the age of 22.

Jake started training after he saw his father pressing a barbell in the garage. At the age of 12, he could barely lift an empty neck, but this did not bother the persistent guy. He trained every day and already at the age of 14 he was effortlessly pressing 136 kg lying down. Schellenschlager broke the world record for barbell squats among teenagers of his weight. Later, he also became the record holder in the bench press at the championships in York, Pennsylvania.

Then they started talking about Jake as the strongest boy in the world. Yes, there was such a "most-most" child in every country, but the Schellenschlager claimed to be the best of the best. His coach Mike Sarney spoke with respect about his ward like this:

Jake's father, Chris, was often reproached for allowing the child to lift heavy weights. Some were even sure that he was forcing Jake to train. But it was not so — the boy himself could not be torn away from sports equipment. Chris or Coach Mike were always there for Jake when he was studying and watching for safety.

In one of the first interviews Chris said about his son like this:

Now Jake Schellenschlager can serve as an example to millions. At the age of 22, he continues to train and has reached considerable heights. Having matured, the young man lost his title of "the strongest child", but he still did not get lost among adult champions. Jake holds the honorary title of ambassador of WG Youth Fitness and has set several world records in bench press and triathlon.

Schellenschlager is always in great shape and regularly shares photos with his Instagram followers. He says that if his example inspires at least a few people, then it is a greater success than all sports awards and titles.