r/weightlifting • u/brianroliver Another Weightlifting Journalist account • Dec 11 '24

News Olivia Reeves - world champion in style ahead of North Korea and China!

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527 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

147

u/brianroliver Another Weightlifting Journalist account Dec 11 '24

1, Olivia 120-147-267 (5/6); 2, Jong Chun Hui (PRK) 116-146-262; 3, Yang Qiuxia (China) 121-140-261.

"Number two in my all-time list of competitions - you can't top the Olympics," was Olivia's verdict. She is the only American weightlifter ever to stand on top of the podium with China and North Korea below her - and now she's done it twice. Report coming later...

30

u/G-Geef Dec 11 '24

She was pretty clearly good for more on the snatch too. I wonder if she goes up to 77 or down to 69?

14

u/FitPrinciple3823 Dec 11 '24

Thats a tough one because going down 2 kilos may not sound like much but, is it worth potential strength losses? Can she fill out being at 77? She has plenty of time before the next Olympics. I'd lean toward going to 69kg.

19

u/G-Geef Dec 11 '24 edited Dec 11 '24

From what I've heard she doesn't walk around much over 71 so 69 may be doable. However for longevity I think being a lighter 77 is probably better and she's far enough ahead of the field that she can rock up at 73-74 and very likely win anyways, especially against a field that may be 81's coming down 4 kilos. 

9

u/FitPrinciple3823 Dec 11 '24

Longevity is a good point. Weight cuts are awful for everyone, and I can see wanting to avoid those in the long run. She's also young with more room to put on size.

15

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '24

filling out 77kg from 71 as a female sounds really tough. adding that much muscle mass is hard enough with testosterone. i'm with you on 69kg making more sense, though we may see her at 77 in competitions between now and then just to avoid cutting weight

3

u/Substantial-Bed-2064 Dec 12 '24

69 could be good in the short term, but neither Olivia nor her coach appear to be short sighted.

-21

u/Reefdabeef Dec 11 '24

Are you insinuating that Reeves isn’t lacking in the testosterone department?

1

u/TrenHard-LiftClen Dec 11 '24

So the new women's weight classes are just the old mens classes?

1

u/G-Geef Dec 12 '24

No the new women's classes are almost all the old women's classes but with 77 & 86. 

9

u/Babayaga20000 Dec 11 '24

She talked about this in a WLH video yesteraday. She said shes leaning towards going up as it will give her more space to grow and get stronger

1

u/TodayTerrible Dec 12 '24

In her interview with Seb, she said both. If she trains at 71kg or 72kg cutting to 69kg would be no problem but gaining 6kg might be.

2

u/Rich-Soft9687 Dec 12 '24

Yeah I get the impression she wants to get stronger. If she can’t keep getting stronger and drop a couple kilos she will move up so it’s tbd.

0

u/Substantial-Bed-2064 Dec 12 '24
  1. She has technical aspects that she and her coach would like to work on, which will be helped massively by gaining more muscle and strength.

1

u/Rich-Soft9687 Dec 12 '24

Yeah she said she wants to get stronger no matter what so I don’t see her anywhere else but as a 77kg. Maybe as a 69kg at first but she will for sure eventually be a 77kg I think. Especially IF she is on a “supplementation protocol”.

1

u/Substantial-Bed-2064 Dec 12 '24

I doubt it. Not because of the typical american exceptionalism, but because she's been tested to the moon and back (as she should be).

Subjectively, I think she could fill out 77 though it would take a long time to really fill it out. Yeah she's not super tall (~161cm) but she's still got a lot of space to grow into her adult years.

69kg for her is too risky in my opinion, it'll increase the likelihood of injuries especially to the upper body. Regardless, it's her choice but I suspect that she'll want to move up and get stronger.

1

u/TodayTerrible Dec 12 '24

Olivia looked very sharp for having been concentrating on her studies. She moves so smooth and fast.

27

u/Micromashington Dec 11 '24

A lot of girls are gonna start lifting cause of her

13

u/SeekingSignificance Dec 12 '24

Men too, lol

5

u/MikeTysonChicken Dec 12 '24

As a man I wanna make snatching look that easy lol

4

u/1blackdog1 Dec 12 '24

Goat American lifter perhaps

1

u/papa_de Dec 11 '24

video of lifts?

1

u/FinalFlash5417 Dec 12 '24

I am tempted to say something “ideological” as a joke

-4

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '24

[deleted]

9

u/yuiop300 Dec 11 '24

They don’t have much in the way of choices when you live in rural China from a poor family.

It’s potentially lift/ do a sport and get an education or stay rural and nothing improves.

It’s a sacrifice these athletes have made that has provided a good living for themselves and their family.

This situation isn’t ideal, but they have very limited choices given their upbringing.

9

u/iamaweirdguy Dec 11 '24

What a weird comment on a post about Olivia Reeves

-11

u/AdRemarkable3043 Dec 11 '24

All the countries should learn from her, she does what she loves

19

u/iamaweirdguy Dec 11 '24

China is much better than the US in weightlifting. There’s a reason for that. Olivia is an outlier here.

7

u/only5pence Dec 11 '24

There is an interesting convo to be had about her training frequency, which is unique among even her Murican counterparts. That conversation gets a bit muddy with the comparison so you're getting murdered with downvotes for effectively pointing out the difference in working class struggles between China and the U.S.

High level sport is quite unhealthy, especially regarding the aspect of time and lifestyle, so Olivia brings some balance back into the equation with her incredible talent.