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SALT LAKE CITY — Olympic hopefuls will be in Salt Lake City this weekend in a weightlifting qualifying event for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
The USA Weightlifting National Championship and U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Weightlifting will take place Friday through Sunday at the Calvin L. Rampton Convention Center (Salt Palace) in Salt Lake City.
The event will feature 15 women, who will be competing for two of the three spots on the American team for the Olympics this summer. Similarly, 15 men will be competing in the weekend’s trials, but will be trying to qualify for a spot on Team USA, which will compete in Colombia at the 2016 Pan American Championship in June.
Should Team USA finish in the top seven teams at the championship event, it will send the top-place finisher to the Olympics. The United States failed to qualify a male weightlifter prior to the Pan American Championship after coming in 27th at the World Championships. The top seven countries at the Pan American Championship will each only send one athlete to represent its respective country at the Olympics.
The women competing include: Jenny Arthur (75KG, Team Georgia), Courtney Batchelor (53KG, Gayle Hatch WLC), Jessie Bradley (75KG, Unattached-Utah), Morghan King (48KG, Unattached-Colorado), Marissa Klingseis (75+KG, Wesley Weightlifting), Jessica Lucero (58KG, Catalyst Athletics), Holley Mangold (75+KG, Unattached-Ohio), Mary Peck (63KG, Hassle Free BBC), Jessica Phillips (75KG, California Strength), Kelly Rexroad-Williams (48, Coffee’s Gym), Melanie Roach (53KG, Roach Strength), Sarah Robles (75+KG, Team Houston), Mattie Rodgers (69KG, Team O.C.), Ariel Stephens (69KG, Catalyst Athletics), and Kathleen Winters (48KG, Team Montana).
Jenny Arthur has already qualified for the Olympics based on her total points earned at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships. The current leaders for the remaining two spots are Sarah Robles and Mattie Rodgers following their performances at the 2015 World Championship and the latest Olympic qualifying event in February.
The men competing include: CJ Cummings (69KG, Team Savannah), Alex Lee (69KG, Garage Strength), Angelo Bianco (77KG, Average Broz Gymnasium), Travis Cooper (77KG, Team MDUSA), Leonardo Hernandez (77KG, East Coast Gold), Anthony Pomponio (85KG, Unattached-Colorado), James Tatum (85KG, Unattached-North Carolina), Colin Burns (94KG, Texas Barbell), Kendrick Farris (94KG, Unattached-Louisiana), Norik Vardanian (94KG, Garage Strength), Donovan Ford (105KG Hassle Free BBC), Wesley Kitts (105KG California Strength), Spencer Moorman (105KG, California Strength), D’Angelo Osorio (105KG, Hassle Free BBC), Cameron Swart (105+KG, Team Houston), Caine Wilkes (105+KG Mash Mafia Weightlifting).
The Salt Lake event for the men competing is simply to set the team for the Pan American Championship. Currently, Alex Lee is the highest-ranked athlete in the country and has a good shot at leading Team USA in Colombia.
The various weightlifting events run throughout the day Thursday-Saturday, with the first event each day starting at 7 a.m. Tickets may be purchased at the event. To watch the event online, you can view the live stream on Team USA’s website or below.
