Team USA’s weightlifting industry has a bright future. American weightlifters had their best-ever performance at the Olympic Games this August in Paris. Just a few months later, the States’ Junior athletes are showing up and showing out at the 2024 Junior World Weightlifting Championships.
- Ella Nicholson, who just turned 18 on July 7, dominated the 76-kilogram event in León, Spain, on Sep. 24, 2024.
Hot on the heels of stellar American women performers like Olivia Reeves, Kate Vibert-Davis, and Mattie Rogers, Nicholson is looking to make her case as a must-pick for the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Ella Nicholson | 2024 Junior World Weightlifting Championships
Nicholson won the 76-kilogram event at Junior Worlds by a ludicrous 12-kilogram margin in the weightlifting Total. Here’s a breakdown of her performance on the day:
Ella Nicholson (76KG)
- Snatch: 113 kilograms | Junior, Senior American Record
- Clean & Jerk: 131 kilograms
- Total: 244 kilograms | Junior American Record
The United States has historically excelled in developing women athletes in the middleweight categories. Nicholson is rapidly moving up in the ranks and may soon join some of the spectacular weightlifters in her weight range:
- Olivia Reeves | 2024 Olympic Champion
- Kate Vibert-Davis | 2020 Olympics silver medalist, 2019 World Champion
- Mattie Rogers | Four-time World silver medalist, seven-time Pan American medalist
- Meredith Alwine | 2021 World Champion
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Nicholson also hasn’t missed the podium once since she began competing internationally in 2023. Of her four international weightlifting meets as a Youth and Junior competitor, Nicholson boasts three gold medals and one silver (from last year’s Junior Worlds).
If her trajectory holds, expect Nicholson to be one of Team USA’s next superstar women’s weightlifters.
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Featured Image: USA Weightlifting
