He might only be 21 and a debutant at the Commonwealth Games, but Darius Jokarzadeh is confident of landing a gold medal in Glasgow.
Ambition is something that the Welshman, who last year became the first British lifter to win a world junior medal for 18 years, certainly doesn't lack.
From Cardiff, Darius spends most of the year at Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania, where he is training to become an American footballer. He wants to play in the NFL, but for now is looking to burst onto the scene in Glasgow.
Sports Mole caught up with the 6'7" lifter earlier today, just after he met Stephen Crabb, the new Secretary of State for Wales.
Welsh Sec. of State @SCrabbMP meets @TeamWales weightlifter @Dariuszadeh, surely one of the biggest at #Glasgow2014. pic.twitter.com/kp6gFCYO3D
— Sports Mole (@SportsMole) July 23, 2014
How has your preparation for the Games been?
"It's going really well. Actually, I had my best session ever today so I'm really confident in what I can do. I've been back [in Britain] for around two months now and I've been absolutely slamming the training. I've been in for four hours a day and eating 10,000 calories. I'm just doing everything that I can."
You live in America now and play American football. Is it true that you want to play in the NFL?
"I'm hoping that in a year or two I'll be able to sign a professional contract. That's the goal, it's what I'm chasing at the moment."
Is it pretty fun out there?
"It's amazing, yeah. You see stuff in films about American parties and although it's not quite like that, some of the stuff which has happened is unbelievable."
So your long-term goal is definitely the NFL, not weightlifting? You don't fancy the Rio Olympics in two years?
"Ultimately, yes. When you're getting paid around $15m (£8.8m), which is what I'd be aiming for, it's quite hard to take the weightlifting route. Even so, I'll see how the Commonwealth Games go and the coverage is great.
"I think if I wanted to go for Rio, I could definitely get a medal there. I'd have to go full steam ahead, though. I'd have to stick on 50kg of body weight, I'd have to train full-time. When you're competing against the Russians, that's all they do. They're government-funded, they have rewards. I'm going to need to think my options over."
Don't you want to be a doctor as well?
"Yep. No matter what I do next, a doctor is definitely on the cards [later on]. I study biochemistry now and it is hard to do it all. I don't have much of a social life!"
Back to Glasgow, what do you want to achieve at these Games?
"I'm going for gold. I'm not taking anything less than gold. In weightlifting, it's a sport where you know what you need, more or less. I think my snatch is definitely the strongest, it'll be more down to the clean and jerk.
"My clean and jerk has been going really good, so hopefully I can pull off the gold."
How about competing just for Wales, how is that?
"This is the first time that I've competed for Wales on the big stage so it's really exciting and really nice to see the Welsh dragon around the place. It's really refreshing."
With this being your first big multi-sport event, how have you enjoyed the Athletes' Village and the atmosphere there?
"Seeing all the different nationalities is crazy. I visited the Olympic Village in London and I thought this would be a lot smaller, but it looks amazing. Even though everyone's competing, as soon as we finish training we all have a good time and enjoy ourselves."
It's the opening ceremony later tonight. How much are you looking forward to that?
"Yeah it should be good, but I'm not too happy about our outfits. It's a Harrington jacket and it's not the most flash! I'm not really looking forward to wearing that, but there's quite a lineup there with Rod Stewart and that. It sounds like they've put a lot of money into it so it will be really interesting to see."
Darius's event, the top weight +105kg, starts at 3.30pm on the final day of weightlifting at the Clyde Auditorium on July 31. Follow his bid for gold on Sports Mole.
Pascal Lemesre
