On Friday evening at the 2017 USA Weightlifting (USAW) National Championships, Jessica Lucero of Catalyst Athletics won her third National Championship in a row and showed everyone why she is likely the top 58KG athlete in American history. After making two of her three attempts in the snatch, including an unsuccessful American Record attempt at 94KG, she went on to make all three of her attempts in the clean & jerk, which included a new American Record of 116KG in the lift. She ended the day with a 208KG total, which ties her current American record which she set at the 2016 National Championships in Salt Lake City.
For the day she made five of six attempts, attempted two American records, successfully set one new record, tied her record in the total and won her third National Championship – not a bad stat line if I do say so myself!
Lucero’s double bodyweight clean & jerk places her in a small yet elite group of American women to successfully achieve that accomplishment. While she was not the only woman to hit that mark this year or event this weekend, she has the distinction of competing in the highest weight class (58KG) to ever have a double bodyweight clean & jerk successfully made for an American woman.
Also on Friday, Alyssa Ritchey of Team Juggernaut won her first National Championships in the 48KG category, where she lifted 96KG for the first double bodyweight lift of the weekend on the woman’s side of the competition. Caitlin Hogan of Waxman’s Gym won her second National Championship in the 53KG category, where she lifted 106KG for the second double bodyweight lift of the weekend on the woman’s side of the competition.
(Read our full recap of Day 1 here.)
Lucero, a Florida native and former student-athlete at Northern Michigan University’s Olympic Training Center, looks in very good shape to be on Team USA at this summer’s Pan American Championships in Miami and World Championships in Anaheim. At the 2016 Pan American Championships, Lucero finished in eighth place in a very competitive 58Kg category. In her first Senior level international competition, she placed 16th overall at the 2015 World Championships to score valuable points for Team USA to send three woman to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Featured image: @liftinglife and @jessicalucero9
