On Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, American weightlifter Olivia Reeves made modern history for Team USA when she won the gold medal in the Women’s 71-kilogram event at the 2024 Olympics — setting a new record in the process.

Reeves, 21, is the first woman weightlifting athlete from the United States to win a gold medal in over two decades at the Olympics. 

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Not only is this a landmark achievement for Team USA in an Olympic event where Americans have historically struggled to excel, it cements Reeves as America’s most dominant weightlifting athlete even though she only began competing internationally in 2019. 

Olivia Reeves 2024 Olympics 

Prior to the commencement of the 2024 Olympics on Jul. 26, Reeves had completed her qualification bid within the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) as the number-two 71-kilogram weightlifter in the world. 

World number-one ranker Liao Guifang of Team China was not selected for Paris by her country’s federation, despite holding the world record in the combined Total at the closure of the qualification period. 

As such, Reeves was widely considered the favorite for gold in her division at this Olympics, a prophecy she fulfilled with flair on the lifting platform. Here’s a breakdown of her performance at the 2024 Olympics: 

Olivia Reeves | Women’s 71-Kilogram 

Snatch: 112, 115, 117

Clean & Jerk: 140, 145, 150x

Total: 262

In addition to winning the gold medal for Team USA, Reeves also set a new record:

Olympic Record Snatch: 117 (previously 116)

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Olivia Reeves Wins Gold Medal; History Made for USA

Women’s weightlifting was added to the Olympic program in 2000. On Sep. 17, 2000 during the now-defunct 48-kilogram event, American weightlifter Tara Nott earned a silver medal for the United States. 

Shortly after, it was announced that then-gold-medalist Izabela Dragneva of Bulgaria had tested positive for a banned substance. She forfeited her gold medal to Nott, who would be the States’ only women’s weightlifting Olympic medalist for 16 years until super-heavyweight Sarah Robles won bronze in Rio de Janeiro.

Prior to Nott, the last American weightlifter of either gender to win a gold medal at the Olympics was Charles Vinci in 1960. 

Reeves’ teammate Hampton Morris competed on Aug. 7 and won the first Men’s Olympic weightlifting medal in 40 years. 

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Since 2016, American women have won at least one medal at every Olympic Games and become one of the more successful weightlifting teams in the world. 

At the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. women’s weightlifting team ranked second in overall points. 

Thanks in no small part to athletes like Reeves, that newfound success is starting to materialize on the Olympic stage. 

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Featured Image: @oliviareeves.71 / Instagram

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