On campus, Sgt. Robert McCarthy is known by students and faculty as the tough but friendly head of the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD). What most people don't know, however, is that, if asked, he could bench press the average NFL defensive lineman.
As a contestant in the World Police and Fire Games, which brings together police officers and firemen from around the world to compete in weightlifting along with "every sport you can imagine," as he described it, McCarthy won a gold medal in the men's bench press with total weight of 142.5 kg (or about 314 lbs).
The World Police and Fire Games were created 28 years ago in order to promote athletics, camaraderie and friendly relations between police officers and firefighters from around the world. Modeled after the Olympics, the first games were held in San Jose, Calif., and attracted nearly 5,000 competitors. Since then, that number has continued to grow, with 15,000 athletes participating in the 65 sports of this year's games, which were held from Aug. 26 to Sept. 5 in New York City.
Weighing in at 220 lbs, McCarthy competed against a variety of policemen and firemen from different countries, beating out a fireman from Texas and a fireman from Iceland.
"That was a lot fun just because athletes were from all over the world there," McCarthy said. "A lot of the eastern European countries sent people, along with Spain, Germany, Sweden, Iceland, all over. It was fun working out with all of them for a few days and actually competing."
Among the competitors that McCarthy got to know, he remembers one comedic firefighter from Iceland in particular. During the games, the Icelandic native approached him just as another competitor was attempting to go for a higher weight, which would ultimately beat out McCarthy for the gold.
"He came over to me and he says ‘Congratulations!' in his broken English, and I said ‘No, he's going for higher, he's in our class.' He just said, ‘I don't how you guys say it, but no way, Jose!' And I just started laughing."
McCarthy was also surprised by how different some of the competitors' attitudes toward the competition were from his own.
"The eastern Europeans take it so seriously, it's amazing. Three months before the event, any of them that are participating in any sport train for three months straight," he said.
McCarthy added that he did not start competitively weightlifting until late in his life. Rather he began lifting after knee problems interrupted his hobby of distance running.
"I started running marathons, but eventually my knees started bothering me, so I couldn't run anymore," McCarthy said. "I wanted something to do, I tried a couple of different things, and little by little I started lifting."
At first, McCarthy only lifted as a way to stay in shape. Later, with the encouragement and coaching of Michael Pimentel, the director of the fitness center at Tufts, he decided to go competitive.
A Medford native, McCarthy came to Tufts when he was 23, and has been serving TUPD for over 39 years. He now lives in Wilmington, Mass., with his family.
Sgt. Glenn McCune, a fellow TUPD officer and friend of McCarthy, said that his colleague's heavy lifting carries over into his professional life.
"Bobby is sort of the department sage, in that he's been here so long and he's known so many people that no matter what the situation, he always has a story or something really applicable to [say]. It's always wise advice, and it's always humorous."
And he's modest, too. McCune wouldn't have known about his fellow sergeant's accomplishments if it hadn't come up during some down time as the officers policed the Homecoming festivities last month.
"I think what he's done is really incredible, and the only way I found out about it is [when we were] at Homecoming, and we're both standing there taking a break, having a cup of coffee," McCune said. He recalled a conversation the two had had about the competition and questioned McCarthy on the results.
"Kerry, one of the officers, said, ‘He won it!'" McCune said. "Had I not asked, he wouldn't have said anything."
In addition to winning a medal at the World Police and Fire Games, McCarthy also won the national weightlifting championship for his weight and age class this past June after sending in results of his lifts done in New Hampshire to be compared with other lifters in different regions across the country.
McCarthy also set the state record for his weight and age in 2010. He broke it this past June, when he participated in the national competition.
Looking forward to the future, McCarthy said that he plans to continue weight training and attending more competitions. Notably, he hopes to attend the 2013 World Police and Fire Games in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In the interim, he hopes to take his new calling one step at a time.
"In the meantime there are a couple of other meets I go to," he said.
"I plan to keep doing it, although I don't know if my total will be as high. It might go down a little."
"But I think I can get it up higher for my next one," McCarthy said. "There are a few things I can still work on. I'll be down at the gym this afternoon getting ready for it."
