Consider This from NPR - How Team U.S.A. weightlifter Olivia Reeves became a gold-medal favorite

Episode Date: August 8, 2024

Ever since women began competing in weightlifting in the Olympics, in the year 2000, only one American woman has won a gold medal.This year, there are hopes that might change.And many of those hopes rest on the (very strong) shoulders of a 21-year-old college student in Chattanooga, Tenn. named Olivia Reeves.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In an industrial park in Chattanooga, Tennessee, there is a nondescript gym, save for the big white banner that hangs over the front door with the five interlocking Olympic rings. And below it, in big blue letters, the name Olivia Reeves. Steve, you want me to open the front door? Inside, the gym is no frills with a half dozen wooden weightlifting platforms. It is decorated with dozens of flags representing countries around the world hanging from the ceiling. Olivia Reeves is currently representing the U.S. flag in Paris as a Team USA weightlifter, though she prepared at this facility in Tennessee.

You just did 87, right? Yeah, let's go 92 for a single. Her longtime coach, Steve Fowler, is ratcheting up the weight for her next lift. You know, it just comes down to having her prepared. I don't see why we're not going to win the gold medal. We're knocking on the door of world records. I mean, why not? Olivia Reeves is a 21-year-old college student in Chattanooga, and it's not just her coach who thinks she's got world-class potential. Consider this. Ever since women began competing and weightlifting in the Olympics in the year 2000, only one American woman has won a gold medal.

This year, there are hopes that might change. From NPR, I'm Juana Summers. It's Consider This from NPR. Weightlifting is among the oldest Olympic sports. A version of it was in the first modern Olympiad in 1896, and it's featured in most of the games since. Four U.S. women have won weightlifting medals since the 2000 Sydney Games when the sport was first contested by women. Here in Paris, expectations are sky high for the whole U.S. team, and certainly Olivia Reeves.

Okay, a brief introduction on how Olympic weightlifting works. Olympic weightlifters are tested on two skills. There's the clean and jerk, where a lifter hoists or cleans the bar to the top of the chest and then presses it overhead. And then there's the snatch where a lifter grabs the bar with a wide grip and lifts it overhead in one continuous motion. The weights are heavy, but Olympic weightlifting isn't all about brute strength. These lifts are full of technical precision and speed. The lift is happening way too fast for you to be thinking about, okay, feet, hips, arms, like it's way too much. So for me, it's looking for a feeling. And I know the feeling of a good day. I know the feeling of a good lift as soon as the bar leaves the floor sometimes. In competition, athletes get

three attempts at each lift. Their heaviest snatch and heaviest clean and jerk combined makes up their total, and the lifter with the highest total wins. And Olivia's total at this year's final Olympic qualifier, a combined 268 kilos or 590 pounds, puts her in first place for her 71 kilokilo weight class. Physical fitness is something that runs in the Reeves family. Olivia's parents met in a gym, and when Olivia was growing up, her parents owned a CrossFit gym. Her mom, Amber, worked there full-time, and she remembers that Olivia was not the biggest fan of cardio. I can remember one workout and there was running involved. And she came back from running and there were tears.

She did not want to do it anymore. Her passion just became about, you know, lifting weights because she really enjoyed that part of exercise. From there, Olivia's focus shifted to weightlifting. She was 13 years old. I asked her parents when they knew that Olivia had real promise as an athlete. This is her father, Jason. She started winning national competitions for her age group and weight class. Well, then having a discussion with Olivia of like, where do you see this going? You know, I mean, is this something we need to take serious

and invest some real energy, effort, and time into this? Or are we just kind of having fun and either path is totally okay? Today, Olivia trains alongside her younger sister, Haley, who is also a competitive weightlifter. I would say it's definitely inspiring and motivating to train with someone at this level. And I mean, the amount of time we spend in the gym is doubled outside of the gym. She's my sister, best friend, roommate, training partner, manager. Like she does it all. Reeves competed in seven qualifiers in this Olympic cycle and kept improving her total and set in records.

And if you watch her compete, there is just this one thing that stands out. After she makes these huge lifts, she always seems to have just a big smile on her face. This is Mike Gattone, USA Weightlifting's head coach. I asked him what he thought Reeves could accomplish in Paris. I'm hoping to see what we always see from Olivia, which is a fun-loving, calm machine. She's pretty darn unstoppable. Some athletes tweak their training ahead of big competitions, but Olivia told us she's sticking with what works. She trains just four times a week, which she and her coach say helps her stay healthy and also keep balance. She is an Olympian, but also a college student finishing her undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

For me, anything I really do in training, I do in competition. It doesn't change other than, like, my hair is braided or that's about it. So I try to practice keeping it parallel across the board of the way that I walk up to the bar, the way that I approach the bar, the way that I put chalk on my hands. Everything is the same. So no tweaks in the lead up to Paris, just the same thing you've been doing for years? Pretty much. I'll just be in another country for some of it. Olivia is always this nonchalant when she talks about her training. She is focused on repetition because it brings her success. She just exudes confidence. So I asked her where that confidence comes from. Essentially, when I go out there, it feels like a black hole.

I don't really remember what happens. So I can, I mean, just simplify it into letting the autopilot take over, trusting that I've done hours and hours of training and I can let it go for a lift and it'll work out. When people talk about you and write about you in the sport, they say things like that you're one of this generation's greatest weightlifters. How does that, I see you laughing, how does that make you feel to hear people talk about you in that way? The generation's not over yet, so how do you know? You don't know yet. It just makes me laugh because I'm like in here all the time. It's weird to think that of all the people that I get to be that title. I don't know. It's weird. U.S. weightlifter Olivia Reeves. I caught up with her briefly here in Paris and she told me while

she's tried to keep her training routine consistent, she's had to make some lifestyle changes. She's made new routines in Paris as she prepares to step onto the platform at the Olympics for the first time. She competes in the 71-kilo weight class on Friday, August 9th. This episode was produced by Vincent Accovino and Mark Rivers. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Patrick Jaron Watanon. Our executive producer is Sammy Yannigan. And one more thing before we go, you can now enjoy the Consider This newsletter.

We still help you break down a major story of the day, but you'll also get to know our producers and hosts and some moments of joy from the All Things Considered team. You can sign up at npr.org slash consider this newsletter. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Juana Summers.