An 11-year-old girl is officially one of the strongest young weightlifters on Earth. On Saturday, Jun. 15, 2024, Aurora “Rory” van Ulft, a pre-teen American weightlifter, set an unofficial Youth world record by lifting nearly twice her own weight overhead.
van Ulft competed at USA Weightlifting‘s (USAW) 2024 National Championships Week in Pittsburgh, PA.
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On the first day of the event, van Ulft hit an unofficial Youth world record by clean & jerking 77 kilograms, or 169.7 pounds, in the 40-kilogram, or 88.1-pound, weight class.
Rory van Ulft: 2024 Youth National Championships
van Ulft is a youth strength athlete who has been hitting big lifts — including a 111-kilogram, or 244.7-pound deadlift at age nine — for years. At USAW’s National Championships Week, she competed in the snatch and clean & jerk; two floor-to-overhead barbell exercises.
Here’s how she did after weighing in at 37.95 kilograms, or about 83 pounds:
Snatch: 58KG
Clean & Jerk: 77KG | Unofficial World Record
Total: 135KG
Weightlifting meets rank athletes by Total, the sum of an athlete’s best single result in both lifts. van Ulft’s 135-kilogram Total eclipsed the second-highest result in her category by a margin of 51 kilograms.
Canadian-born van Ulft was not ultimately ranked because she competed as a guest athlete.
Why Is It an Unofficial Record?
World records may only be set at competitions under the purview of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).
The girls’ 40-kilogram clean & jerk world record officially stands at 76 kilograms and is held by Filipino athlete Angeline Colonia, who achieved the record at 15 years of age. The IWF recognizes Youth athletes between the ages of 13 and 17.
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Is Weightlifting Safe for Children?
While it may look dangerous at a glance to see van Ulft holding almost twice her own weight above her head, weight lifting is not inherently harmful for children.
A landmark 2009 scientific review on youth strength training remarked, “Participation in almost any type of sport or recreational activity carries a risk of injury … A well-supervised strength training program has no greater inherent risk than any other youth sport or activity.” (1)
Moreover, a 1993 study of Junior Olympic weight lifters found that the muscular strength gleaned from proper strength training can positively influence bone mineral density and physical resilience. (2)
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Most importantly, weightlifting athletes of all ages are coached and supervised at all times by accredited coaches who incorporate structured training plans in the months leading up to a competition.
A 1-rep max may cause an athlete to compromise their exercise form, but the posture and effort on display in a competitive setting does not reflect how a young athlete like van Ulft exercises day-to-day.
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References
Dahab KS, McCambridge TM. Strength training in children and adolescents: raising the bar for young athletes? Sports Health. 2009 May;1(3):223-6. doi: 10.1177/1941738109334215. PMID: 23015875; PMCID: PMC3445252.
Conroy, B. P., Kraemer, W. J., Maresh, C. M., Fleck, S. J., Stone, M. H., Fry, A. C., Miller, P. D., & Dalsky, G. P. (1993). Bone mineral density in elite junior Olympic weightlifters. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 25(10), 1103–1109.
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