It’s been 24 years since an American has won a weightlifting gold medal at the Olympics, but that streak will be in serious jeopardy of ending when Olivia Reeves takes the platform Friday in the women’s 71kg (156 lbs.) final.
Reeves, a 21-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, enters her debut Olympic competition as the top-ranked athlete in the field. The American record holder and 2023 world bronze medalists will lift to become the United States’ first gold medalist in the sport since Tara Nott at the Sydney 2000 Games.
SEE MORE: Olivia Reeves: Meet the athlete
Working to Reeves’ advantage is the fact that 2023 World Champion Liao Guifang of China was not selected by her nation to compete in Paris (countries can nominate a maximum of three male and three female lifters across the 10 Olympic events).
The American will still have to outperform 2022 world champion Loredana Toma of Romania and two-time world medalist Angie Dahomes of Ecuador, among others, to reach the top step of the podium.
The women’s 71kg competition begins at 1:30pm ET and can be streamed live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. It follows the men’s 89kg event, slated for 9am ET.
SEE MORE: How to watch weightlifting at the Paris Olympics: TV and stream schedule
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.