The 17-year-old weightlifting prodigy Harrison Maurus looks pretty dead set on breaking some records at next week’s Pan American Weightlifting Championships.
Take a look at this behind the neck jerk of 200 kilograms (441 pounds) that he just hit in training, a lifetime PR for the young athlete.
In April at the 2017 Youth World Weightlifting Championships in Bangkok, Maurus set a new youth world record in the clean & jerk with 192 kilograms (422 pounds), which is also a Senior American record.
This training lift we saw above is eight kilograms (17.6lb) heavier than that. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean he could clean it, let alone jerk it from the front rack, but it does show some unbelievable — almost unmatched for his age and weight class — overhead strength, core stability, and balance.
Now, jerking from behind the neck is a little easier on the core and wrists than jerking from the front rack, so this lift doesn’t have a perfect translation to the conventional jerk.
But then again, we saw Maurus jerking 191 kilograms (420 pounds) just a few months before he hit his world record 192kg lift in Bangkok, so who knows what we can expect next week?
And a couple of days ago we saw him pull off a clean and jerk of 180 kilograms (397 pounds) without a belt.
[Check out our article on Maurus’s weightlifting progress throughout his early teens!]
Although he’s just 17 years old, Maurus — holding the open American record, after all — is more than ready to compete with senior lifters at the Senior Pan AM Weightlifting Championships.
They start this Sunday the 23rd of July at 8am EST and run until Thursday. Check out this link when you’re ready to watch — and enjoy BarBend’s color commentary!
Editor’s note: BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. Beyond article syndication, the two organizations maintain editorial independence.
Featured image via @harrison_maurus on Instagram.
