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SALT LAKE CITY — Jenny Arthur, Sarah Robles and Morghan King officially punched their tickets to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro at the U.S. Women’s Weightlifting Team Trials at the Salt Palace Convention Center on Sunday night.
Robles didn't have a perfect day, by her own admission, but will represent Team USA at 75 kilograms in her second-straight Olympics despite a disappointing early effort. She failed on each of her 118-kilogram snatch attempts — but she bounced back with a strong clean and jerk.
A strong performance at the 2015 World Championships also helped send her to Rio.
“I tried to show people that even though I had a bad day, that doesn’t mean it’s over for me,” said Robles, who served a two-year ban for testing positive for banned substances in August 2013.
King took the top spot in the 48-kilogram weight class with a 100-kilo clean and jerk during Sunday’s final round to clinch her first-ever Olympic bid. Arthur, the top-ranked female lifter, had already qualified for the Olympics, leaving Sunday’s competitors vying for two spots on the U.S. Olympic team.
In the men’s qualifiers, competitors weren’t vying for an Olympic berth. That’s because the USA isn’t guaranteed a spot in the field this year; instead, the top eight finishers at this week’s U.S. championships qualify for the Pan American championships, where they will compete for one berth in this summer’s games.
Alex Lee topped the 68-kilo weight class with a total weight of 312 kilograms, edging out 16-year-old phenom CJ Cummings for a spot on the Pan American team.
Travis Cooper finished first at 76 kilos with a 326 total, and Leonardo Hernandez had 320. James Tatum led the way at 84 kilos with 341, followed by Anthony Pomponio at 330.
At 93 kilos, Kendrick Farris set an American weightlifting record with 377 kilos to win the U.S. national title, edging out former record holder Norik Vardanian (374) and Colin Burns (362). Wesley Kitts finished first at 105 kilos, lifting 370 to edge Donovan Ford (368).
Caine Wilkes won the top weight class with a final score of 404 for the 147-kilogram lifter.
