USA Weightlifting Secures 100th Pan American Games Medal
As Harrison Maurus lifted 195kg (429.90 lbs) over his head Sunday night at the XVII Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, he secured USA Weightlifting’s 100th medal in Pan Am Games competition and continues Team USA’s winning streak that stretches back nearly seven decades.
Maurus, 19, went five-for-six in his lifts Sunday in the 81kg (178.57 lbs) bodyweight division, with a best 155kg, snatch, 195kg clean and jerk for a combined 350kg (771.67) total, enough for a bronze medal.
“I was very pleased with today’s performance,” Maurus said. “We were up 15 kilograms from the Junior Worlds in Fiji, so I can’t complain. I felt great”
USA Weightlifting athletes have won at least one medal since the first Pan American Games in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. United States weightlifting athletes have won 48 gold medals, 27 silver and 25 bronze medals in the 27 Pan American Games held thus far.
Maurus, the 2017 Youth World Champion and current holder of five American records, joins the list of Pan Am Games medalists that’s filled with legends of the sport including Olympic champions and hall of famers.
“It’s pretty cool to earn number 100 for the United States,” Maurus said.
Maurus, a hopeful to make the team for next year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, had a strong showing that gave notice to his competitors worldwide.
“We’re where we wanted to be, come in and be stronger at Worlds in Thailand in September,” Maurus said.
Competing in the same body weight division, Team USA’s Christian Rodriguez Ocasio went three for three in the snatch, improving his personal best in the lift by one kilo when he made a 152kg lift on his third attempt. He hit 143kg and 148kg on his first and second attempts.
In the clean and jerk, Rodriguez Ocasio made 175kg on his second attempt after missing it on the first. Rodriguez Ocasio took a 10kg jump to 185kg on his third attempt, completing the clean but missing he jerk. He earned a 327kg total and a fourth place finish.
“That [337kg] would’ve been a new personal record over the Pan American Championships,” Rodriguez Ocaio told USA Weightlifting. “There’s more in the tank and we know what we need to work on for Worlds.”
Source: USA Weightlifting
