No, it’s not an all-time PR for American weightlifter (and reigning Pan American, Junior, and World Champion) Kate Nye. But if this 142kg rack jerk is any indication, training is going well leading up to her next Olympic qualifying event.
Nye released this video on social media just a few days before heading to the South American, Ibero-American & CSLP Junior Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The competition will serve as a Silver Level qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, though only for Junior athletes (like Nye).
Nye has been on an absolutely fantastic streak since the end of 2018, where a great American Open Finals performance catapulted her toward the top of USA Weightlifting’s rankings. Pan American, Junior, and World Championship performances followed, giving her perhaps the best single-year performance record of any American weightlifter in the last few decades and establishing Nye as a must-watch for Tokyo qualification.
[Confused on how weightlifting athletes can qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics? Check out our explainer video below!]
To the best of our knowledge, Nye’s personal record in the rack jerk is actually 145kg, which she hit back in July 2019. She made that lift the same week she first back squatted 400 pounds.
[Read our interview with Kate Nye from earlier this year!]
Nye’s rise to the top of international weightlifting has been exciting to watch for fans from the US and abroad. Her progress in the -71kg weight category has been impressive after moving up a weight class, and she’s made significant gains in both the snatch and clean & jerk. Because -71kg is not an Olympic bodyweight category for weightlifters, assuming she qualifies, Nye will look to compete at -76kg in Tokyo. (Nye says she’s gained 25 pounds in the past 18 months in order to fill out the weight category.)
Featured image: @katherineenye on Instagram
