2023 Pan American Weightlifting Championships Full Results & Highlights

With only a year and some change until the commencement of the 2024 Olympic Games, the landscape of international weightlifting is beginning to reveal who has the best shot at making it to Paris. The best weightlifters in North and South America alike gathered in Bariloche, Argentina, for the 2023 Pan American Weightlifting Championships.

Running from Mar. 25 to Apr. 2, 2023, this year’s competition was full of high-caliber lifting and gave several athletes opportunities to strengthen their cases as Olympic hopefuls. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here’s a full breakdown of the podium in each weight class at the 2023 Pan American championships, plus some moments that helped give life to the competition. 

2023 Pan American Championships Results

• Men’s Results
• Women’s Results
• Highlights

2023 Pan American Championships | Men’s Results

The Colombian weightlifting team opted out of competing at Pan Ams in 2023 following a financial dispute with the Argentinian federation. This helped the United States — whose athletes usually do quite well in their own right — dominate the podium in the Men’s divisions. 

American weightlifters won five Men’s weight categories, as many as every other country combined, including several of the highly competitive Paris-recognized classes (61, 102, and +102 kilograms). 

55 Kilograms

1. José Poox (MEX) — 233 kilograms
2. Johny Arteaga (ECU) — 228 kilograms
3. Howard Roche (PRI) — 226 kilograms

61 Kilograms

1. Hampton Morris (USA) — 281 kilograms
2. Arley Calderón (CUB) — 275 kilograms
3. Luis Bardalez (PER) — 271 kilograms

67 Kilograms

1. Orlando Vásquez (NIC) — 279 kilograms
2. Vicente Montoya (MEX) — 268 kilograms
3. Mateo Renteria (PER) — 262 kilograms

73 Kilograms

1. Julio Mayora (VEN) — 332 kilograms
2. Ryan Grimsland (USA) — 323 kilograms
3. Jorge Cárdenas (MEX) — 310 kilograms

81 Kilograms

1. Darvin Castro (VEN) — 324 kilograms
2. Dante Pizzuti (ARG) — 317 kilograms
3. Samuel Guertin (CAN) — 310 kilograms

89 Kilograms

1. Keydomar Vallenilla Sanchez (VEN) — 379 kilograms
2. Olfides Sáez (CUB) — 355 kilograms
3. Alex Bellemarre (CAN) — 354 kilograms

96 Kilograms

1. Nathan Damron (USA) — 340 kilograms
2. Jonathan Ramos (MEX) — 337 kilograms
3. Wilmer Contreras (ECU) — 334 kilograms

102 Kilograms

1. Ryan Sester (USA) — 372 kilograms
2. Marco Machado (BRA) — 360 kilograms
3. Luis Lamenza (PRI) — 348 kilograms 

109 Kilograms

1. Wesley Kitts (USA) — 365 kilograms 
2. Josué Medina (MEX) — 363 kilograms
3. Hernán Viera (PER) — 337 kilograms

+109 Kilograms

1. Alejandro Medina (USA) — 385 kilograms
2. Caine Wilkes (USA) — 384 kilograms
3. Dixon Arroyo (ECU) — 374 kilograms

2023 Pan American Championships | Women’s Results

Historically, the Women’s division is the more competitive side of Pan Ams, and this held true again in 2023, even with Colombia’s absence. And it was the athletes from Ecuador who walked away with the lion’s share of medals in Bariloche, particularly in the heavier weight classes: Ecuadorian women stood on at least one podium slot from the 71- to 87-kilogram categories.

45 Kilograms

1. Rosielis Quintana (VEN) — 160 kilograms
2. Maria Barco (MEX) — 157 kilograms
3. n/a

49 Kilograms

1. Jourdan Delacruz (USA) — 198 kilograms
2. Hayley Reichardt (USA) — 197 kilograms
3. Yesica Hernández (MEX) — 182 kilograms

55 Kilograms

1. Shoely Mego (PER) — 192 kilograms
2. Josée Gallant (CAN) — 189 kilograms
3. Jennifer Hernández (ECU) — 187 kilograms

59 Kilograms

1. Maude Charron (CAN) — 225 kilograms
2. Danielle Gunnin (USA) — 220 kilograms
3. Daphne Guillén (MEX) — 217 kilograms

64 Kilograms

1. Tatiana Ullua (ARG) — 203 kilograms
2. Sema Ludrick (NIC) — 198 kilograms
3. Nadia Yangui (CAN) — 193 kilograms

71 Kilograms

1. Angie Palacios Dajomes (ECU) — 248 kilograms
2. Kate Vibert (USA) — 248 kilograms
3. Olivia Reeves (USA) — 247 kilograms

76 Kilograms

1. Meredith Alwine (USA) — 238 kilograms
2. Bella Paredes (ECU) — 237 kilograms
3. Kelin Jiménez (ECU) — 235 kilograms

81 Kilograms

1. Neisi Dajomes (ECU) — 256 kilograms
2. Ayamey Medina (CUB) — 254 kilograms
3. Tamara Salazar (ECU) — 253 kilograms

87 Kilograms

1. Dayana Mina (ECU) — 233 kilograms
2. Laura Jiménez (MEX) — 218 kilograms
3. Cecilia Rodriguez (URY) — 197 kilograms

+87 Kilograms

1. Mary Theisen-Lappen (USA) — 272 kilograms
2. Sarah Robles (USA) — 271 kilograms
3. Naryury Pérez (VEN) — 256 kilograms

2023 Pan American Championships | Highlights

Like any good weightlifting competition, Bariloche 2023 was packed to the brim with impressive moments and jaw-dropping performances. Here are just a few of the standouts from the competition: 

Jourdan Delacruz and Hayley Reichardt (49KG)

Two of America’s best women weightlifters also happen to be each other’s stiffest competition in the Pan American region. Jourdan Delacruz and Hayley Reichardt once again duked it out on the international stage, leaving every other athlete in the 49-kilogram class to battle for a distant bronze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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At the last four events they’ve both attended (including this competition), Delacruz and Reichardt have beaten the other in the Total twice each. Delacruz, a Tokyo Olympian, came out on top in Argentina with a couple of new American records in the process.

Reichardt, who finished only a kilogram behind and bagged the silver medal, is hot on her heels. These two are likely to go blow-for-blow in contention for a Team USA slot in Paris 2024. 

Keydomar Vallenilla Sanchez (89KG)

Venezuela’s Keydomar Vallenilla Sanchez had the most dominant male performance at the 2023 Pan American championships. The 96-kilogram Tokyo silver medalist won the 89-kilogram category by a full 24 kilograms, the widest margin of any Men’s category this year.

Vallenilla Sanchez placed second to Colombia’s Brayan Rodallegas at last year’s event. However, Colombia’s absence in Argentina gave Vanenilla Sanchez an opportunity to retake the top of the podium (he won the gold medal in the clean & jerk as well). 

Mattie Rogers (81KG)

In Totaling 247 kilograms, Mattie Rogers missed out on the podium at the Pan American Championships in 2023 for the first time in nearly a decade. She snatched 110 kilograms and clean & jerked 137 kilos, neither of which was enough for a medal in those disciplines. Rogers — the States’ most decorated weightlifter in modern history — faces an uphill battle if she wants to make it to Paris 2024, and the climb was steep in Argentina.

After missing her second clean & jerk, Rogers appeared one final time in the 81-kilogram class to take a crack at 144 kilograms, an all-time personal record and a lift that would have moved her firmly into first place. She successfully sent the barbell over her head and was given a “down” call by the officials, but a last-second change of heart by the referees invalidated the lift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Weightlifters and their coaches are usually able to contest a referee’s decision by presenting a challenge card to the jury, but there was no avenue to do so at this competition. Controversy aside, Rogers may not have made the podium, but she did prove she has the strength and grit to make it to the podium in one of the sport’s most competitive classes. 

Ryan Sester (102KG)

Ryan Sester had a moment at the 2023 Pan American Championships. The Team USA newcomer placed 14th at the 2022 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Weightlifting Championships last December, only his third IWF appearance for the States.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sester returned to the IWF stage in force, winning the 102-kilogram division at Pan Ams by a 12-kilogram margin ahead of silver medalist Marco Machado of Brazil. Jumping from 14th to first place between meets is a tremendous accomplishment and bodes well for Sester’s prospects on behalf of the United States leading into Paris. 

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Featured Image: William Johnson / BarbellStories