It was an electric day for the Team USA -71kg women’s athletes at the 2019 IWF World Championships. Heading into this year’s World Championships, Katherine Nye and Mattie Rogers were on everyone’s “who to watch” lists.
Nye had an entry list total of 246kg, while Rogers had 238kg, and both of these athletes have certainly lived up to the momentum they gathered heading into the Championships. Nye, at 20 years old, became the youngest Team USA women’s athlete to win a senior World Championship with a 248kg total, and Rogers accomplished the accolade of bringing home three consecutive World Championship medals with her 240kg total.
The last time two Team USA women’s athletes occupied a World Championships podium together was over 20 years ago, and Rogers and Nye just took the podium three times with one another in the snatch, clean & jerk, and total.
Total Results
- Katherine Nye (USA): 248kg
- Mattie Rogers (USA): 240kg
- Kim Hyo Sim (PRK): 230kg
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In the snatch, Rogers went ⅔ with a successful 103kg opener, 106kg second. She missed her third attempt with 108kg, however, her 106kg was enough to earn her a bronze medal.
Nye started her day in the snatch with a 106kg opener, but closely missed it. However, in true Nye fashion, she bumped up her second attempt by 1kg to 107kg, and found success.
The battle for gold in the snatch came down to the People’s Republic of Korea’s Kim Hyo Sim and Nye.
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Kim, went on to complete a 110kg second attempt, which put the pressure on Nye heading into her third. Nye, needed to go big and called for 112kg on the bar for her final attempt and nailed it for a new Junior World, American, and Pan American Record, and a Senior American and Pan American Record.
Kim, submitted a 113kg third to top Nye, but unfortunately fell short, so Nye came out on top with the gold.
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Snatch Results
- Katherine Nye (USA): 112kg
- Kim Hyo Sim (PRK): 110kg
- Mattie Rogers (USA): 106kg
Heading into the clean & jerk, Rogers and Nye both had the highest openers. Kim, who had the second highest entry total of 245kg and was the biggest threat for the Team USA lifters, sustained what was speculated to be a knee injury and was unable to finish her third attempt after missing her second with 125kg. Kim finished with her 120kg opener.
Rogers opened her clean & jerks with a successful 130kg, while Nye completed a 131kg first attempt. Great Britain’s Emily Victoria Godley took home third in the clean & jerk with her successful 126kg second attempt.
On her second attempt, Rogers completed a successful 134kg, and Nye found success with 136kg. At this point, Rogers already knew she achieved a silver medal in total and went for 137kg on her third, but fell just short.
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Nye, now with an open playing field, called for 141kg on the bar for her third attempt, which would award her with another new Junior World Record in total, but unfortunately came up short and failed to stabilize and lock out her jerk.
Clean & Jerk Results
- Katherine Nye (USA): 136kg
- Mattie Rogers (USA): 134kg
- Emily Victoria Godley (GBR): 126kg
It was a fantastic showing for Team USA, and the women’s -71kg athletes are looking stronger than ever as we creep closer to the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
Feature image from @usa_weightlifting Instagram page and photo by @sickangles.
