Five things to know about USA Weightlifting rising star Olivia Reeves
In 2023, the 20-year-old broke junior world records several times to become one of her nation’s top lifters, but did you know that she didn’t use to use a belt? More on that, and other interesting facts, below.
Olivia Reeves is only 20-years old, but she is taking the world of weightlifting by storm.
After a successful youth career that saw her win the 2021 junior world title at 71kg, the USA star enjoyed a breakout year as a senior in 2023.
Her first major medal came with bronze in the Pan American Championships at 71kg.
The Hixson lifter then caused a shock when she won 71kg bronze at the World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, setting new junior world records in the clean & jerk and total.
Using this momentum, Reeves then landed continental gold at the Pan American Games at 81kg in Santiago, Chile, with new junior Americas records in the snatch, clean & jerk, and total.
But her record-breaking achievements for the year weren’t done. At the IWF Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar, in December 2023, Reeves achieved a 115 kg snatch, a 147 kg clean & jerk, and a total of 262 kg to break all three junior world records again in the space of an hour.
Reeves’ 147 kg jerk remains the heaviest in US weightlifting history by any non-superheavyweight female.
Below, we take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about the weightlifting prodigy, from how she got into the sport, to why she didn’t wear a belt on heavy lifts for so long.
1 - Why Olivia Reeves switched from CrossFit to weightlifting
Reeves tried several different sports growing up, before she found her calling in the weightroom.
But her gateway to weightlifting came through CrossFit, at the gym her mum owned in Chattanooga, in the fourth grade.
“I did Crossfit for about three years until I realised I like lifting weights a lot better than CrossFit!” she told TeamUSA.
“Then I started training with my coach and did my first youth national realising the kind of potential I had in the sport.
In 2015, Reeves started lifting in competitions, and finished second in her first Youth Nationals a year later.
After that performance, she was invited to a camp at an Olympic training centre, and the rest is history..
“After that I was like, ‘Hmm, I think I’m pretty good at this. I’m gonna stick with it,'” she said.
2 - Training seldom, without a belt!
Belts are generally considered to be a vital component of any competitive weightlifting.
They are designed to support the lower back and core while engaging in the lifting of heavy weights, supposedly helping to prevent injury and increase lift amount.
Reeves, therefore, raised many eyebrows pre 2021, when she wouldn’t use the belt.
“It was just not a necessity. It was nothing I needed until I had to make a 140+kg clean & jerk,” she told the Philosophical Weightlifting Podcast.
“I use it for clean and jerks over 80/85% now. I needed to make bigger weights and I wanted to see if it would help with that.
“I competed and trained without it for so long, and I like to think I would have made my PRs without it too.”
In addition, Reeves would only train three times a week until 2021, at which point she turned to four.
Day Four, Weightlifting, Competitor from the United States, Olivia Reeves in the Women's 81Kg category, Group A, Santiago 2023 Pan American Games at the Chimkowe Gymnasium, obtains the Youth Pan American record.
3 - Majoring in exercise science
Olivia Reeves is best-known for her prowess in the weightlifting arena, but she is anything but just an athlete.
One of the reasons she has limited training time during the week, is that she is also studying at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for a degree in exercise science.
“I picked it because of weightlifting. It’s a field I know a lot about and through subliminal information I can tie the two together,” she continued.
“I’m not sure I’m totally sold on it as a long-term career but it’s within my comfort zone right now.”
4 - An animal lover and volunteer
Another area that she could choose to pursue is working with animals.
Reeves adopted a rescue dog, Amber, and also volunteers at animal protection and welfare charity Humane Society every other weekend since August.
“Doing that gives me a different perspective of life and different situations. I really enjoy doing it,” she said.
It’s something to get me out of school and lifting. Making my bubble and my social life expand a little bit more.”
“I really love animals. Maybe it would be a dream job for me in the future.”
5 - Olympic Games Paris 2024 battle for selection
USA Weightlifting is blessed with talent, with only one weightlifter per class eligible to represent the United States at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Reeves is part of a brilliant trio - alongside 2021 World Champion Meredith Alwine and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Kate Vibert-Davis - all competing for a place on the USA team.
Before the WSF Grand Prix II in Doha, Reeves and Vibert-Davis were sitting at 4th and 5th, respectively, on the IWF’s official qualification leaderboards. It is the primary metric determining eligibility for the 2024 Games. But after Reeves’ fresh win in the 71-kilogram Group A session, she moved much ahead in the race for Paris.
“We’re cursed and we’re blessed,” US Director of Coaching Mike Gattone said to the IWF.
“We have two in each category fighting it out and you can see what it does. In Cuba (at the last qualifier) Kate did better and Olivia was crying, and this time it’s the other way around. They’re pushing the heck out of each other.”