In her second World Championships, Mattie Rogers (69kg) further cemented herself as one of America’s best weightlifters, earning bronze medals in Anaheim in the snatch, clean & jerk, and total to continue an historic day for USA Weightlifting.
Rogers went 3-for-6, making her opening two snatch attempts and her opening clean & jerk to bring home three medals for Team USA. She finished with 104kg in the snatch and 131kg in the clean & jerk for a 235kg total, the same total as the silver medal finisher and just four kilograms behind the 2017 World Champion. Rogers’ are the first World Championships medals for American women since 2005. Earlier in the day, Harrison Maurus became the first American male to medal at a Worlds since 1997.
With more sessions to come in Anaheim, the 2017 World Championships already marks the first time in history Team USA has won medals for both genders at the event. It’s the first time since 1992 that the US has had multiple medal winners at the same Worlds.
Leidy Yessenia Solis of Colombia — the 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the weight class — finished in first place with a total of 239kg. Romela Begaj of Albania finished second overall with 235kg.
On social media, Rogers has referred to Solis as a major inspiration throughout her weightlifting career. In Anaheim, the strength gap between the two seemed narrower than ever.
Featured image: @USA_Weightlifting on Instagram