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The United States won medals on all six days of the Pan American Championships in Cali, Colombia, where Olympic champion Olivia Reeves was in a class of her own. Reeves beat the world standard by 9kg on total at her new weight of 69kg, finishing with a sweep of world records.

Hampton Morris, another American who was on the podium in Paris, and the 20-year-old Colombian Sebastian Olivares also set world records in a high-quality competition that featured 30 continental records.

Olivia Reeves (USA)

The host nation had three champions, 11 medals on total and 33 overall. The United States took six titles in winning 10 medals on total and 30 overall. Dominican Republic had three winners, Venezuela two, and Brazil and Cuba one each.

Reeves dropped down from 71kg to the new 69kg category and equalled the best total of her international career, making all six attempts for 119-149-268. Only three of the 28 women who lifted in the heaviest of the new weight categories – 77kg, 86kg and +86kg – bettered Reeves’ total, which would have been enough for a bronze medal in the super-heavyweights.

Reeves, 22, made it look easy as she set world records on her second and third lifts in both snatch and clean and jerk. She surpassed the world standard on total three times, and it will be no surprise if she breaks more records at the World Championships in Norway in October.

Hampton Morris (USA)

Two days before Reeves’ exploits, Morris had become the first senior world record holder in the IWF’s new weight categories, which came into use on June 1, when he made a clean and jerk of 181kg at 65kg.

Morris would have had the record on total, too, if he had held on to his final attempt at 186kg. Second-placed Francisco Mosquera from Colombia failed with a world record clean and jerk attempt at 184kg and finished 135-178-313, which was 5kg behind Morris on 137-181-318.

The other winners for the United States were Miranda Ulrey at 58kg on 97-120-217, Mattie Rogers at 77kg on 110-139-249, Kolbi Ferguson in the men’s 110kg on 173-215-388 and Aaron Williams in the super-heavyweights on 187-224-411.

Julio Mayora (VEN)

Rogers won in dramatic style, missing her penultimate attempt on 137kg then making her final lift on 139kg to move up from third place to first ahead of two Olympians. Rogers, who weighed in more than 1.5kg light, was ranked sixth in the individual points table. Mari Leivis Sanchez from Colombia, second behind Reeves at 71kg in Paris, took silver on 111-137-248 and Laura Amaro from Brazil was third on 110-136-246.

Another outstanding performer for the Americans was Caden Cahoy, who was ranked sixth in the men’s points table, a place behind Morris. The improving 21-year-old made five good lifts at 79kg before failing with a world record attempt at 204kg.

Yudelina Mejia (DOM)

Cahoy, who won world and continental junior titles last year, improved his best total by 20kg on 154-198-352 and already looks a serious contender for a place in Team USA at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Cahoy finished second to Julio Mayora from Venezuela who, like his team-mate and fellow Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Keydomar Vallenilla, returned to his best form. Mayora made all six lifts for 158-199-357.

Vallenilla won a tight contest with Yeison Lopez from Colombia at 88kg, with the former world champion Arley Mendez from Chile a long way back in third. Both Vallenilla (174-208-382) and Lopez (176-205-381) could have had the world record on total, but Vallenilla failed with his final attempt at 212kg and Lopez missed twice, at 210kg and 212kg

Vallenilla was second, Mayora third and Lopez fourth in the individual rankings, which were topped by the 110kg silver medallist Mattheus Pessanha from Brazil, the 102kg junior world champion.

Mattie Rogers (USA)

Pessanha, 19, weighed in closer to the 94kg category on 98.5kg and made 171-205-376 behind Ferguson. Brazil’s lone winner was Thiago Felix at 60kg, on 120-158-278.

Olivares, a multiple junior champion, moved up in weight and made a clean and jerk world record of 191kg in winning at 71kg on 146-191-337. That was a career best total by more than 30kg.

Marcos Bonilla also won for Colombia, declining his final attempt after finishing a long way clear at 94kg on 161-210-371. Wes Kitts, a double Olympian for the United States, said farewell to international competition at this session, leaving his shoes on the platform.

Reeves topped the women’s rankings by nearly 200 points. Yudelina Mejia, who won at 86kg on 123-147-270, was second.

Mejia was one of three female champions for Dominican Republic, the others being Dahiana Ortz and Beatriz Piron at 48kg and 53kg on 190kg and 201kg. Piron, a mother of three and four times an Olympian, is continuing her career until next year when Dominican Republic hosts the Central American and Caribbean Games.

Keydomar Vallenilla (VEN)

Third in the rankings was a 15-year-old Venezuelan, Enderlin Ulacio, who won a snatch medal in making all six attempts for fourth place at 48kg. Her 77-96-173 earned a sweep of continental youth records.

Yenny Sinisterra made all six lifts in winning for Colombia at 63kg on 104-132-236.

The Championships ended with a close contest in the women’s super-heavyweights. Mary Theisen Lappen was in the lead on 278kg with one lift to come for the 2024 junior world champion Marifelix Sarria from Cuba. Sarria, 20, denied the Americans a seventh victory by making it, completing a six-from-six 118-162-280, up 10kg on her previous best.

By Brian Oliver