The 2017 Senior Pan American Weightlifting Championships are set to kick off on Sunday, July 23rd and go through Thursday, July 27th. This competition will host some of the world’s best weightlifters.
If you want to watch the championships live, check out this link.
Live coverage will begin on the 23rd, as the female 48kg lifters kick off the competition at 8 A.M. EST. All color commentary for the event will provided by the BarBend team in conjunction with other commentators from USA Weightlifting. For the full schedule of lifting times, then check out this link.
There are a lot of lifters competing to your eyes on, but there a few we’ve written about recently that have gathered a good amount of attention behind their lifts.
Wes Kitts 105kg
California Strength athlete Wesley Kitts has been hitting some huge lifts lately, and is working towards claiming all of the senior male 105kg American records.
Two weeks ago, Kitts surpassed the current American 105kg snatch and total record in training. Check out the video below shared on Cal Strength’s YouTube channel that highlights Kitt’s lifts from late June.
[Want to read more about Wes Kitts? Check out our interview with him here.]
Mattie Rogers 69kg
Mattie Rogers, who holds the American female 69kg records in the snatch (106kg), clean & jerk (133kg), and total (239kg), is also a lifter to keep an eye on. She consistently performs well, but took second last year at the Pan American Championships behind Colombian weightlifter Leydi Solis. Will she claim first this year?
Alyssa Ritchey 48kg
This CrossFit Regional athlete turned weightlifter is one of the few American women to clean & jerk double her bodyweight in competition.
[Read more about Ritchey’s transition from CrossFit Regionals athlete to full-time weightlifting athlete here.]
She qualified for her first Pan American Championships Team earlier this year.
These Championships will go by fast, so if your favorite athlete is competing, then make sure to take down their start time now and tune in.
Also, don’t forget to give a shoutout to your favorite strength sport news & analysis team color commentating!
Editor’s note: BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. Beyond article syndication, the two organizations maintain editorial independence.
Feature image from @mattiecakesssss Instagram page.
