[2016 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS BEST FEMALE LIFTER


BEST FEMALE LIFTER: MATTIE ROGERS


By Anna Resman Mattie Rogers (Apopka, Fla.) is quick-


ly becoming a household name in the weightlifting world. At only 20 years of age, she has risen to the top during her short amount of time in the sport – less than four years. Last year, Rogers took the national and


international scene by storm. In February, she placed first at the USA Weightlifting (USAW) National Junior Championships, securing her place on Team USA for the In- ternational Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Junior Pan American Championships in May. She brought home three medals from Colombia – gold in the snatch and bronze in clean and jerk and total. Later that summer, Rogers once again


confirmed her dominance at the USAW National


Championships. She eas-


ily won gold in the 69kg category and earned a berth to the IWF World Cham- pionships in Houston, Texas. On home soil in November, Rogers competed on one of the biggest international stages against the best in the world. She went 5 for 6 and placed 16th overall (17th in snatch, 14th in clean and jerk) in her weight class. To say the least, 2015 was a big year for


Rogers and gave her more than enough momentum to drive forward into 2016 in full force. At the end of March, she received an


unexpected spike in attention after post- ing an Instagram video of her barbell crashing through a window. As the video went viral, Rogers responded with poise and confidence – “It’s kind of sad that this is the one thing that gets the world atten- tion, but hey I’ll take it. Maybe next time some of the amazing youth kids breaking records or some of the other amazing feats that happen within our community will get attention. Having such a large


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reach not only allows me to bring exposure to the sport, but hopefully edu- cate the average person a little more about what it is we actually do.” Going into the U.S.


Olympic Team Trials, Rog- ers was definitely a fan favorite. However, there were several top contend- ers for the remaining two Olympic berths, and ev- eryone knew it would be a close compe- tition. During the snatch session, Rogers easily moved 103kg overhead in her first attempt and then broke her own Ameri- can record with a successful second at- tempt at 106kg. On the third attempt, she aimed to break the record again at 109kg. She moved the bar overhead but was unable to stand up before the bar dropped behind her.


MATTIE ROGERS


(69KG) PREPARES FOR A LIFT AT THE 2016 OLYMPIC TRIALS


MATTIE ROGERS (69KG) SNATCH 106KG/233.2LBS


*AMERICAN RECORD


]


In the clean and jerk, Rogers com-


pleted 132kg on her second attempt after missing that weight on the first. She needed to lift 141kg on her third at- tempt to place higher than Sarah Robles (Desert Hot Springs, Calif.) and earn an Olympic berth. All eyes were on Rogers as she took the platform – very focused and determined; however, she was un- able to clean the bar, and the lift was not completed. While this was a devastating loss for


Rogers, it is truly just the start of a very promising weightlifting career. Follow- ing the trials, she addressed her follow- ers on Facebook with a lengthy post and concluded by stating, “onto the next, Pan American Championships next month. This is not the end, it’s just the beginning. Congratulations to the three women representing the United States in Rio [Jenny Arthur, Morghan King, Sar- ah Robles], you all deserve it.” Rogers soon heads back to Colombia


for the IWF Pan American Champion- ships. This means another opportunity to set records, make her presence known internationally, and inspire hundreds of thousands of fans back home. There’s no doubt about it – lifters from across the nation will be cheering her on.


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