If you don’t know about Olivia Reeves, you should probably brush up — this 20-year-old Olympic lifter is poised to win a medal for the United States at the Paris Olympics later this summer. Reeves is one of the most talented American weightlifters in many years, thanks in no small part to her extraordinary leg strength.
Case in point: On Monday, Mar. 25, 2024, Reeves posted a new back squat 1-rep-max to social media. The weight in question, 218 kilograms, or 480.6 pounds; three times her own body weight.
Olivia Reeves (-71, USA) 3x body weight back squat
byu/robschilke inweightlifting
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Reeves did not specify her exact body weight when she posted the video, but she competes in the Women’s 71-kilogram weightlifting division. If her 218-kilogram lift is exactly thrice her current weight, Reeves weighed approximately 72.6 kilograms, or 160 pounds, at the time.
Who Is Olivia Reeves?
Reeves is not a powerlifter and does not compete in the squat. She’s a competitive weightlifter who, since her International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) debut in 2019, has rapidly ascended to the top of one of the sport’s most competitive weight classes. Since her first IWF competition, Reeves has:
- Lifted in 14 IWF-sanctioned events, including three Senior World Championships as a Youth and Junior athlete.
- Won six overall gold medals out of those 14 competitions.
- Owns all three Junior world records in the 71-kilogram category.
- Ranked as the number two 71-kilogram weightlifter in the world, as of March 2024.
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Her best in-competition lifts include a 116-kilogram (255.7-pound) snatch, a 147-kilo (324-pound) clean & jerk, and a 262-kilogram (577.6-pound) Total (the sum of both lifts).
Is This a Powerlifting Record?
Despite not competing in the squat as a powerlifter, Reeves boasts leg strength that stacks up pretty well against the best female squatters in the world. According to the International Powerlifting Federation’s (IPF) record registry, the 69-kilogram class is closest to Reeves’ competition body weight. The IPF raw world record in the back squat in that division stands at 225 kilograms, or 496.0 pounds, held by French powerlifter Prescillia Bavoil.
In fairness, you can’t directly compare the two squats, due to the substantial differences between powerlifting vs. weightlifting:
- Powerlifters squat “low bar” and diligently practice squatting on a very regular basis.
- Weightlifters squat “high bar” and regard the movement as an accessory exercise to supplement the snatch and clean & jerk.
Reeves’ 218-kilogram squat would not be an IPF world record. However, some exercise science researchers have argued that the mechanics of the low bar squat allow athletes to lift about 10% more weight than they would with a high-bar position. (1) It’s distinctly possible that Reeves could switch to powerlifting and give Bavoil a run for her money at a powerlifting meet.
You can find Reeves on the weightlifting platform at the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, this April. She competes for Team USA in the 71-kilogram Group A session on Sunday, Apr. 7.
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References
- Nuckols, G. (2023, July 5). High bar and low bar squatting 2.0. Stronger by Science.
Featured Image: @oliviareeves.71 on Instagram
