Like many college football players, Wes Kitts liked lifting heavy weights.
Kitts, a sports science student at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN, decided to do his internship at CrossFit North Knoxville under the owner, Johnny Davis.
This led Kitts to train exclusively in CrossFit by the age of 22, but he found that he really excelled at Olympic weightlifting.
- Two years later, Kitts decided to focus strictly on weightlifting, eventually moving to California in 2016 to train for the Olympics at Cal Strength in San Ramon.
The move paid off.
Kitts, now 34, qualified and competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and again at the 2024 Games in Paris, France.
He earned an eighth-place finish both times in the 109 and 102-kilogram categories, respectively.
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For the Record
This summer in Paris, Kitts hit three of six lifts, posting a 374-kilogram (822.8 pounds) total, which included a 172-kilogram snatch and 202-kilogram clean and jerk (378.4 pounds and 444.4 pounds, respectively.)
Considering Kitts was injured in the months before the Olympics with rectus abdominis, adductor, and quad tendon tears, as well as a cartilage injury, he said he was happy with the result.
- “I hit all the lifts that I hit in training, so I couldn’t ask for more,” Kitts told Morning Chalk Up in an interview.
Kitts admits he has only lifted twice since returning home to Knoxville. This was partly due to needing a break from training but also because he has been focusing his attention on running his CrossFit affiliate, Be Somebody Gym, in Knoxville, TN.
From Olympian to Gym Owner
A year ago, Kitts saw a business opportunity.
The new owner of CrossFit North Knoxville wanted to get out of the business, so Kitts made an offer and purchased the gym. It was sentimental for Kitts, who described the gym as where he first learned how to do a “passable squat snatch.”
He immediately gave the place a facelift. It began with a paint job and then moved on to the fun stuff: new equipment.
This makeover included a spiffy Rogue rig and, of course, some high-quality Olympic weightlifting barbells and bumper plates that helped him train in the lead-up to the Paris Games.
Now that the Olympics are over, Kitts can finally be 100 percent focused on his new business, which has been equal parts fun and challenging so far.
While weightlifting is an independent sport with personal goals and records, Kitts tells us that being a gym owner is all about relationships.
“It’s all about getting along and getting the right people in the right places,” he says.
Despite the challenges, he wouldn’t change it for the world.
- “I just like being in the gym,” he said. “I have always loved being at the gym and the fact that I get to wake up and be around weights all day; that’s where I want to be. And I have a group of people I can do it with.”
What’s Next for Wes Kitts?
As for whether or not Kitts will ever compete again, he told us that his weightlifting career is likely over as he moves on to new things.
- “As far as the Olympics goes, there isn’t another one for four years, so from my point of view, I’m 34 already,” he said. “I’m perfectly healthy, but competing at the Olympics takes a lot out of you and requires a lot. And other things are calling to me.”
These “other things” start with embracing his new role as an affiliate owner.
“I’m still getting the experience and trying to get everyone what they need and figuring out my role and how I can be the most impactful,” he said.
And who knows?
Maybe his new role will include guiding a future world-class weightlifter like he was when he first stepped into CrossFit North Knoxville all those years ago — maybe all the way to the Olympic Games.
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Featured image: @weskitts22 / Instagram
