In breaking news at the 2016 USA Weightlifting (USAW) American Open, Wes Kitts made two successful lifts in the snatch portion of the competition to set a new American Record of 174KG (383lb). The old record of 173KG (381lb) had stood since the 2014 Pan American Games where it was set by Ian Wilson.
Watch below, video courtesy of @usa_weightlifting.
Kitts, who has only been an active competitor in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting since 2014, has quite an extensive athletic resume already at the age of 26 years old. He was a tailback on the Austin Peay (American) football team from 2008 to 2012, where he rushed for over 1,100 yards in his career.
He also has competed for the New York Rhinos in the National Professional Grid League (GRID). In 2016 he moved to San Ramon, CA where he has been training under Dave “The Godfather” Spitz at California Strength. In that short time, he won the 2016 USAW National Championships, and won a bronze medal at the IWF Grand Prix in Kazan, Russia.
Kitts also earned a spot on the 2016 Pan American Championships. He finished in 4th place overall, with lifts of 165KG (363lb) in the snatch and 188KG (414lb) in the clean & jerk. His team points were invaluable for USAW in securing one men’s Olympic spot at the 2016 Olympic Games, which was awarded to Kendrick Farris in the 94KG category.
This past September, BarBend.com caught up with Wes Kitts at the Caffeine and Kilos Invitational in Sacramento, CA. You can read his complete athlete profile here.
Kitts’ snatch record represents the 3rd standing Senior American Record to be broken this weekend. On Saturday Night, teenage weightlifting phenomenon CJ Cummings set new records in the 69KG category. On Sunday afternoon, Colin Burns set a new snatch record in the 94KG category.
