Pedro Meloni is director of events and sponsorship at USA Weightlifting in Colorado Springs. As a 2019 Connect Sports Game Changer, he discusses his passion for sports tourism.

*Connect with Meloni on Instagram. What I do: I organize USA Weightlifting National and International Events. In parallel I am also responsible for the sponsorship agreements of the organization. How I got here: My first contact with USA Weightlifting was when I was working for the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro. I’ve been involved in the sport for more than a decade and I met the executives of this organization at the test event. After some conversations, I got the job offer and here I am. Big-Time Event:  2017 IWF World Championships: USA Weightlifting was recently awarded with the best amateur event of the year for the 2017 IWF World Championships. The event brought to the U.S. more than 300 athletes from 50 different countries. The event took place in Anaheim, California, which set the stage for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It was the first international event of an Olympic Sport after L.A. was nominated to host the 2028 Games. Greatest career accomplishment: I was invited to be an international expert by the IWF to deliver the 2018 Weightlifting World Championships in Turkmenistan. Impressive stats: We’ve increased the income of the national events from 2016 to 2018 by $100,000. We also increased the sponsorship income from May 2018 to May 2019 by $220,000. What I am working on now: We are working on an Olympic Games qualifier for next year. We expect to get major international athletes to compete for a money prize in the first trimester of 2020.  What I do outside of work: I train Brazilian Jiu-jitsu; fish and volunteer as the head of competition for the World Para-Powerlifting, associated with the IPC (International Paralympic Committee).