Weightlifting finally gets underway at the 2024 Paris Olympics Wednesday, kicking off five days of physics-defying feats of strength from South Paris Arena 6.
Wednesday features two medal events: the men’s 61kg (134 lbs.) class and the women’s 49kg (108 lbs.) class. Both are the lowest weight categories for their respective genders.
Two of the five American lifters in Paris will hit the platform on the opening day of competition, as Hampton Morris and Jourdan Delacruz both represent legitimate contenders for the podium.
The action begins at 9am ET with the men, followed by the women at 1:30pm ET. Both events can be streamed in their entirety on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
SEE MORE: How to watch weightlifting at the Paris Olympics: TV and stream schedule
Men’s 61kg
Team USA’s 20-year-old prodigy, Hampton Morris, will make his Olympic debut against a deep field of seasoned veterans.
China’s Li Fabin, the defending gold medalist and world record holder, is a big favorite to repeat as Olympic champion, and Indonesia’s Eko Yuli Irawan will attempt to become the first weightlifter to win five Olympic medals.
But don’t count out Morris just yet. The three-time Pan American Champion holds the world record in the clean and jerk at 176kg (388 lbs.), which he set in April at the IWF World Cup. The key for Morris will be the snatch. He was unable to register a lift in that discipline at the 2023 World Championships. If that happens in Paris, he won’t even get a chance to show of his C&J chops.
If Morris can produce a competitive lift in the snatch, then lookout.
SEE MORE: Meet the U.S. Olympic Weightlifting Team
Women’s 49kg
Once again, the heavy favorite is the lifter from China, Hou Zhizui, also a reigning gold medalist. Returning also is India’s Mirabai Chanu, the Tokyo silver medalist.
They are familiar foes for 23-year-old Atlanta native Jourdan Delacruz. Delacruz was on her way to a standout performance in Tokyo, in third place after snatch portion. However, she failed to record a valid lift on any of her clean and jerk attempts, resulting in a painful end to her debut Olympics.
Delacruz has only gotten better since then, winning her first world championships medal in 2023. She’ll be well worth watching as she chases down a spot on the podium.
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