Paris, Women 71kg: Historic gold for USA’s Reeves – and two silvers on the day for Colombia
Olivia Reeves made her mark in weightlifting history when she became the first American woman to stand on top of the podium at the Olympic Games, and the first of either gender since Chuck Vinci won in 1960.
Reeves, 21, won the 71kg contest in her usual unflustered style, and with a lift to spare. She skipped off the platform after a good lift, of which there were five, and never looked anything other than a winner even though she admitted to feeling more nervous than she looked.
Olivia Reeves (USA)
On a night when all three medals went to Pan American athletes, Mari Leivis Sanchez from Colombia was second and Angie Palacios from Ecuador third. Yeison Lopez had finished second in the earlier men’s 89kg, so Colombia ended the day with two silver medals.
Reeves had said before Paris that the Olympic Games was “just like any other weightlifting competition”. Did she go on to the platform with that mindset?
“Yes, and then I got more nervous than all the others so it didn’t really work but, you know, I tried. The weight of this competition is different, the vibe. I knew I was going to cry on the podium.”
The medallists missed only two lifts between them, while there were plenty of red lights further down the scoreboard. Reeves finished on 117-145-262. When Sanchez made her final attempt she moved from third to second on 112-145-257, with Palacios on a six-from-six 116-140-256.
Mari Leivis Sanchez (COL)
Reeves had already won when she missed her final attempt at 150kg. “That one haunts me because I’ve done 150 before and I knew I could do it,” she said. “I wish I’d taken an extra breath.”
She is a full-time student at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Being Olympic champion in the host nation of the next Olympic Games might disrupt her plans.
Asked about that, Reeves said, “I’ve no idea about it, other than my next competition is Bahrain (the World Championships in December) and I hope to be well prepared for that one. World record prepared!
“I hope this can inspire any young girl who wants to do this. I think to be a representative in this sport means a lot, and I’m proud to have that role.”
She will be back at the South Paris Arena to cheer team-mates Wes Kitts and Mary Theisen Lappen at the weekend. Then Reeves will take a break in France with her family, who were in the auditorium to see her win.
Reeves is the second American woman to win but the first, Tara Nott Cunningham, did not receive a gold medal at the ceremony in 2000. She was promoted from silver three days later after a doping disqualification.
Sanchez, who missed Tokyo because she was pregnant, said, “My mother convinced me and supported me for this. She told me to reach for the stars.
“Because of her I had faith and conviction, I’ve always been sure that I could have this result. Now I can give my son a better life. It makes me so happy and proud.”
Angie Palacios (ECU)
Palacios also mentioned the support of her family, throughout her career and in Paris. “I felt at home with my family here. They know how much I’ve fought for this medal, they are part of it.”
The Romanian Loredana Toma, a multiple world and European champion, failed with all three clean and jerk attempts after sitting third in snatch on 115kg. Vanessa Sarno from the Philippines, another with medal hopes, had already bombed out after missing all three snatch attempts at 100kg.
Marie Fegue put up a good fight for the host nation and had an outside chance of a medal after Toma and Sarno departed, but she made only two good lifts for 110-133-243. Fegue was fifth, a place behind Siuzanna Valodzka, the Individual Neutral Athlete from Belarus on 111-135-246.
Joy Eze from Nigeria, who made five good lifts for a total of 232kg in seventh place, signified her retirement by removing her shoes on the platform. The 20-year-old has stated her intent to “become a superstar” in WWE wrestling.
By Brian Oliver