USA weightlifting team embraces each other while seeking best Games in decades
For the first time since 1996, USA weightlifting is sending a full team of eight (four male, four female) to the Tokyo Olympics.
More than half of the lifters have legitimate chances at medaling, USA weightlifting CEO Phil Andrews said earlier this month. He added that placing in the top three medal count as a team is an attainable goal, and that the United States is on track for its best performance since the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics.
Behind those lofty expectations is a youth movement on the roster, with five of the eight athletes 25 or younger. For Sarah Robles, the eldest female competitor heading to Tokyo, it’s a welcome sign for the sport — and the United States’ chances.
"I’m enjoying this cultural shift we’re seeing in their sport," Robles, 32, said on July 1 during a video conference with reporters.
Although they train across the country, these eight have built bonds in the two or three times per year they’ve all been around one another in this last quadrennial. Sometimes the interactions are as simple as sending a silly meme to the group chat. Other times it’s a word of encouragement after a lift.
"I think Team USA has done an excellent job in putting us in position to develop camaraderie," Robles said.
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As a three-time Olympian, Robles said she’s never had this level of rapport with a group.
"When we all come together, it feels really natural, it feels like we’re friends … and you don’t really notice that age difference so much," 25-year-old Mattie Rogers said. "We’re all in the same boat, going through the same stuff, so when we come together, it’s just a fun time."
Said 20-year-old CJ Cummings, the baby of the team but perhaps the one with the biggest Olympic dreams: "I’ve been competing with these and training with these guys since I was about 15, going to youth competitions. Just to see everyone go from youth, juniors, to now we’re all on that Olympic team, to share this experience, they’re just like family."
Meet the entire USA weightlifting squad heading to the Tokyo Games.
CJ Cummings
Age: 21
Bodyweight category: 73kg (161lbs)
Hometown: Beaufort, South Carolina
If the number of American records you currently own (23) is higher than your age number (21), odds are you have big things coming. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal has called Cummings the "LeBron James of weightlifting."
He is the reigning four-time junior world champion after winning the world title at the youth level twice.
"I guess through all of my success, coming up as a youth, I’m able to keep the pressure off me, keep calm," Cummings said. "I really don’t think about what’s next or what’s next to come, I just live day by day, and whenever the moment comes, I’ll just deal with it there."
Harrison Maurus
Age: 21
Bodyweight category: 81kg (179lbs)
Hometown: Auburn, Washington
Also a former youth champion, he owns 10 current American records and won bronze at the 2017 IWF world championships.
Wes Kitts
Age: 31
Bodyweight category: 109kg (240lbs)
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
He won the 2019 Pan American Games and holds two American records. His best world championship finish was 10th in 2017.
Caine Wilkes
Age: 34
Bodyweight category: +109kg (+240lbs)
Hometown: Matthews, North Carolina
Throughout his career, with three Pan American championships and five national titles, he’s been trained by his father, Chris.
"It means a lot, the fact that he can be there for me while I’m out there and the fact that he gets to share this experience," he said.
Jourdan Delacruz
Age: 23
Bodyweight category: 49kg (108lbs)
Hometown: Wylie, Texas
A former gymnast who picked up crossfit and transitioned to heavy lifting, Delacruz has quickly found success in her new sport. She’s a two-time Pan American champion and won gold at the 2020 Roma World Cup. Delacruz also owns nine American records currently.
Kate Nye
Age: 22
Bodyweight category: 76kg (167lbs)
Hometown: Oakland Township, Michigan
Also the holder of nine American records presently, Nye won the 2019 International Weightlifting Federation championship and has one junior world record.
Mattie Rogers
Age: 25
Bodyweight category: 87kg (192lbs)
Hometown: Apopka, Florida
The two-time IWF silver medalist won the Pan American Games in 2020 and is also a former FISU World University champion.
Sarah Robles
Age: 32
Bodyweight category: +87kg (+192lbs)
Hometown: League City, Texas
Robles won bronze at Rio 2016, and another medal would make her the first American women weightlifter with multiple medals. She is a four-time Pan American winner and also the 2017 IWF world champion.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA Weightlifting, led by CJ Cummings, seeking best Olympics in Tokyo
