Olympic weightlifter Wes Kitts just broke the American record in the snatch at the Pan-American Weightlifting Championships in Miami, Florida. On his third and final attempt, the athlete lifted 175 kilograms (385.8 pounds).
Kitts’ historic lift earned him a silver medal in the snatch — and went toward a silver medal overall — in the extremely competitive -105kg weight class, with gold going to Jorge David Arroyo of Ecuador. Arroyo made a snatch of 182 kilograms (401.2 pounds).
NEW AMERICAN RECORD FOR WES KITTS! #GOODLIFT pic.twitter.com/O2MXJmeoJi
— USA Weightlifting (@USWeightlifting) July 27, 2017
D’Angelo Osorio, also of USA Weightlifting, won gold in the clean & jerk with a successful lift at 210 kilograms.
Kitts’ lift beat his own American record by one kilogram, which he set at the USA Weightlifting American Open in December last year.
In some respects, Kitts’ snatches mirrored a training session he filmed last month at his gym California Strength. During the workout, Kitts missed a 175kg lift twice before hitting it on his third attempt.
Kitts totaled 390 kilograms in that workout. So what did he total at Pan Ams?
He was breathing down Arroyo’s neck all the way through the clean & jerks — the Ecuadorian is known to be much more proficient at the snatch than the clean & jerk. Kitts’ first lift was 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds), after which Arroyo went for 200 kilograms and missed. Not only that, he appeared to injure himself, as he was limping off stage. It seemed like he wouldn’t come back to the stage, but he managed to rally and pull off a 200kg clean & jerk on his third attempt, limping even more conspicuously as he made his way off stage. He totaled 382 kilograms.
When he snatched 175kg in training, Kitts totaled 390 kilograms with a 215kg clean & jerk, but it wasn’t in the cards today. Kitts didn’t make his second lift of 208kg — he wasn’t able to lock out his left arm — and when he returned to make his third and final lift of 209kg, he made the clean, but collapsed to the ground before attempting the jerk. It appears that there was too much pressure on his windpipe and arteries, a not uncommon occurrence in weightlifting. Fortunately, he was able to quickly walk it off and doesn’t appear to have done any lasting harm.
With his 382-kilogram total, Arroyo brought home the gold medal in the total while Kitts came in second place with a 375kg total, earning himself a silver medal in the snatch and the total.
American D’Angelo Osorio, meanwhile, snatched 150kg and clean & jerked 210kg for a gold medal in the clean & jerk.
#TeamUSA‘s D’Angelo Osorio brings home GOLD in the Clean & Jerk!!! pic.twitter.com/kCiOutKDCX
— USA Weightlifting (@USWeightlifting) July 27, 2017
This was some of the fiercest competition we’ve seen in Pan American competition in years, and we can’t wait to see what the superheavyweights have in store. Congratulations to Osorio, Kitts, and Arroyo for their outstanding performances today.
Featured image via @USWeightlifting on Twitter.