It sometimes seems like all eyes are on Katherine Nye when it comes to women’s weightlifting in the United States, and she’s all but confirmed to be representing the country in Tokyo later this year.
While it remains to be seen if Mattie Rogers, Sarah Robles, Jourdan Delacruz, Mattie Sasser, or Jenny Arthur will be going to the Olympics, USA Weightlifting’s CEO Phil Andrews says that Nye is “reasonably safe” as the first female weightlifter for the U.S.
The 21-year-old deserves the accolades. The youngest World Champion in American weightlifting history, she currently holds every American record in her -71kg weight class with the following lifts:
- 112kg snatch
- 137kg clean & jerk
- 248kg total
As part of a collaboration with Reddit and NBC called Reddit’s Olympic Conversation Series, Nye is one of twenty-three athletes running Q&A-style “Ask Me Anything” posts on the site as the Olympics approach.
You can read all her answers at this link below, but we’ve compiled our favorites underneath it.
My name is Katherine (Kate) Nye and I’m the youngest world champion in american weightlifting history. I hold multiple American records and my own world record too! Ask me anything, redditors! from r/olympics
Favorite lift
“SNATCH! I love the speed, technique, and strength required to excel at this lift. It took a lot of work to even like it, but now there’s no better feeling than hitting a perfect snatch.”
Favorite cheat meal
“Everyday is a cheat day for me, I’m bulking to fit into my new Olympic weight category. (Editor’s note: That’s the -76kg class; Nye gained 25 pounds last year.) BUT, my favorite is a nice pasta, preferably with lots of cream and tomatoes 🙂 dessert is always brownie sundae!!”
[Related: Our interview where we learn everything there is to know about Katherine Nye’s diet]
Struggling with bipolar disorder
“Bipolar disorder ruled my life for years. It determined if I liked weightlifting or not. If I could sleep or if I’d sleep all day. My moods, my temper, etc.. But since I’ve been medicated, I’ve gotten much better at processing things and keeping my emotions steady.”
If she’d rather fight a Martins Licis-sized duck or 100 duck-sized Martins Lici
“100 duck sized Martins! How cute!”
What she’d tell an athlete who wants to get into weightlifting
“Find a qualified coach and be a coachable athlete. It’s VERY slow at first, but once you get the hang of it, Weightlifting is very addicting. It’s a great sport with a fantastic community, you just need to keep your head down and do the work :)”
https://www.facebook.com/wxyzdetroit/videos/527364554771257/
On the time Kelly Clarkson called her a bodybuilder, said her 246-Pound snatch was 156 Pounds
“Hahah in situations where interviewers are telling my story and giving my sport publicity, I try just to be thankful for the thoughtfulness. She didn’t have to do a story on me, and she put me on NATIONAL TV. That’s unheard of for a weightlifter. Even though it was a bit disappointing, she got the point across, which I really appreciate.”
Who is the GOAT in women’s weightlifting?
“Deng Wei or Kuo (Hsing-Chun) on the women’s side. What’s really cool is that they’re all active weightlifting! What a time to be alive!”
This is an ad for earbuds, but hey, it’s got some cool lifting shots.
Her hopes for the future of women’s weightlifting
“I’d like to see Pan American, Western European, and Middle Eastern women showing up on the big stage. So much needs to change internationally to ensure a level playing field for EVERYONE, and women are still fighting for the right to lift, so that needs to be taken care of as well.”
Her lifting goals for this year
“I mostly want to total 260 one way or another. 115/145 would be sick! But I do want to snatch 120 sometime in the near-ish future.”
Least favorite exercise
“Romanian deadlifts.”
We hear you on that one, Katherine. Read the full post to see her thoughts on switching to powerlifting and her closest friends on Team USA.
Editor’s Note: BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. The two organizations maintain editorial independence unless otherwise specified on partner content.
Featured image via @katherineenye on Instagram