Weightlifter Olivia Reeves is making waves. In Apr. 2024, Reeves — a 20-year-old and the United States’ most dominant female weightlifter of the year — deterred Team China, the world’s winningest country in weightlifting this century, from sending an athlete to compete against her at the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris, Frace.
Flash forward and Reeves has joined Team USA as one of its five weightlifters heading to represent the red, white, and blue in Paris. She’s the favorite for gold. If successful, Reeves would be the first American woman to win a gold medal in weightlifting at the Olympic Games.
Courtesy of USA Weightlifting
“Olivia has been a special lifter from the beginning, but no one could have predicted all this would happen,” says USA Weightlifting (USAW) Director of Sports Performance Mike Gattone. He’s right about that; Reeves came out of nowhere, but her success on the lifting platform is a long time coming.
BarBend caught up with Gattone, Reeves, and her coach Steve Fauer to unpack one of the most meteoric rises in American weightlifting history and how Reeves herself feels just two months before the biggest sporting event of her life.
Editor’s Note: The quotes in this article from the athlete and additional sources have been lightly edited for clarity.
Choosing Weightlifting
Reeves’ weightlifting coach, Steve Fauer, has been with her from the beginning. “She’s always made the right choices,” he says.
Olivia has always made the right choices.
Coach Steve Fauer
Fauer continues: “Her parents raised her right. She has always been conscious of what she eats and goes to bed at nine when her friends might be up ’til 10 or 11 p.m.,” which is exactly the kind of diligence that bodes well for the career of a full-time strength athlete.
BB: How and why did you start weightlifting?
OR: My parents own a CrossFit gym in Chattanooga. I wanted to be a better CrossFitter, so I began lifting at age 12.
I’m not a runner or cardio person. I liked weightlifting more than CrossFit. When I did my first Youth Nationals, it became much bigger. By age 15, I set my first Youth American record with a clean & jerk of 83 kilograms and had been to a camp at the Olympic training center.
A rule in our family required an extracurricular activity: A sport or something academic. We (Olivia and her sister, Haley, 19) couldn’t do sports without [good] grades. That helped me create a work-life balance.
BB: You were concerned about your work-life balance when you were a teenager?
OR: Yes. In high school, I worked at a fast-food restaurant for a couple of years. I haven’t had to work since I got a full-time stipend from USAW, but I still have to balance weightlifting and studying. I don’t have time to train more than I do.
That helps me maintain balance — weightlifting isn’t all that I have.
Courtesy of USA Weightlifting
- Reeves is a full-time sociology student at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. She expects to graduate in December of 2024.
Reeves’ personal coach, Steve Fauer, said: “Olivia’s independent, maybe to a fault. She didn’t like being told what to do when she started, but that changed when she came second at USAW‘s National Youth Championships in 2016. Reeves was the stronger athlete, but the first-place finisher had better technique. That’s when things ‘clicked’ for Olivia.”
Getting More Out of Less
Director Gattone says Reeves trains “way, way less than other weightlifters.” Yet Reeves competes more often than most of her colleagues and is among the few athletes to have lifted in all seven Paris qualifiers.
We’ve never let her stagnate. It suits her.
Coach Steve Fauer
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BB: Tell us a bit about your training schedule and how it differs from most young weightlifters with similar backgrounds.
OR: I train four times per week. Others train a lot longer, usually in six to nine sessions. I don’t have time for that. but there’s always something to work on. Sometimes, in a clean, one of my heels comes up, I need to improve my balance, stuff like that.
- Reeves remarks that she enjoys her workouts and the camaraderie of lifting alongside people of all ages, from pre-teens to the older adults who frequent her gym.
My training before Paris and during the Olympic Games will be similar to the past couple of years. My coach and I know what works, and my goal is not to change anything.
BB: Why did you compete in all seven qualifiers for Paris when five would have been enough?
OR: Seven chances betters the odds. I’m 20. For someone aged 30, it’s different. I’m taking advantage of my youth and gaining experience. I wanted to do all seven. It doesn’t feel like, “Man, I have to. I want to.” It’s fun.
From Coach Fauer: “[Olivia] enjoys this sport, and I do everything to ensure it stays that way. When I first saw the qualifying calendar, one competition after another for 18 months, it looked quite the task. Olivia’s never had a chance to stagnate; that suits her. The day after she won gold at the Pan American Games, [Olivia] was in the gym doing front squats.”
Non-Stop Improvement and Zero Stress
Many athletes felt stress while qualifying for Paris, leading to many bomb-outs (failure to make a Total). Reeves has never looked stressed. She skips off the stage after a good lift, always smiling.
I’m lucky in that I don’t have to push myself.
Olivia Reeves
“Olivia has been so lucky,” says coach Fauer. “She has had no setbacks and no injuries.”
BB: You’ve made consistent progress throughout the qualification period. How do you maintain your trajectory while limiting stress?
OR: My coach and I are on the same page when we decide on confident openers. There’s a solid chance that if I have three tries, I’ll make this weight, so if it’s an opener, it’s never an issue. I’m lucky I don’t have to push myself.
- “Openers” refer to the athlete’s first of three attempts in both the snatch and clean & jerk portions of a weightlifting competition. It’s the first time the athlete appears on stage after being introduced to the audience.
Courtesy of USA Weightlifting
You build confidence within training and warm-ups. In the back room, I have complete trust in Steve, Mike (Gattone), and Pyrros (Dimas, USAW‘s technical director and four-time Olympic medalist) that they won’t put a weight on the bar that I can’t do.
I went six-for-six three times (in qualifying and a fourth time at the Pan Am Games). People would say I couldn’t keep doing that forever, but I ask, “Why not?” I can hit the weights I declare.
- A six-for-six performance is the gold standard for a competitive weightlifter, indicating that the athlete successfully lifted all three snatches and all three clean & jerks in a single competition.
[Related: The Beginner’s Guide to Olympic Weightlifting]
BB: What’s your relationship like with your coach?
OR: Steve is the only coach I’ve ever had. Some of my older teammates have been through multiple coaches, and it makes me realize how lucky I am. Changing coaches sounds stressful.
Steve is old school. He doesn’t want to have too many athletes and the drama it can bring. I’m not dramatic; I haven’t had to worry about my weight much over the years. I like the 71-kilogram category.
But I’ve had my fair share of tears. I missed a jerk at 140 kilograms in my last workout before the European Weightlifting Championships in February, which I consider bad because I haven’t missed a jerk at 140, well, ever. If missing a jerk at 140 is what I see as bad, things are going pretty well overall.
In Context: Reeves’ two primary competitors in Paris are Angie Palacios-Dajomes of Ecuador and Filipino weightlifter Vanessa Sarno. Both athletes have only jerked 140 kilograms or more once in the qualifying period.
Best In Class
Despite Team China’s dominance over the sport of weightlifting in the international circuit, Chinese weightlifter and 71-kilogram world-record holder Liao Guifang, who finished the qualification period ranked number-one in the world, wasn’t selected as one of China’s three women representatives in Paris’ weightlifting event.
I’m hoping to lead by example.
Olivia Reeves
Reeves suspects she had a lot to do with that call. At the IWF World Cup this spring, Guifang placed second to Reeves. She’s heading to Paris seven kilograms up in the Total on runner-up Palacios-Dajomes, and 12 above third-placer Loredana Toma of Romania.
BB: What was your reaction to hearing China wasn’t sending [Guifang]?
OR: I wouldn’t say I had much of a reaction. It’s pretty simple; China wants gold medals, and they will take the athletes who have the best chance at that. It just wasn’t the case for them in my weight class.
BB: Are you aware you are a role model for young girls?
OR: I’m realizing how influential my platform is to a younger generation of lifters. While that responsibility feels intimidating, it was not the goal from the beginning. I hope to lead by example.
BB: Besides the actual competition, what are you looking forward to at the Olympics?
OR: My parents try to come to all my national competitions, but they haven’t seen me compete internationally. They booked a vacation in Paris so they can watch me perform.
I want to watch Team USA have the most sublime Olympic Games experience. I enjoyed the Pan American Games; I wonder what the real deal’s like.
Courtesy of USA Weightlifting
- Reeves plans on qualifying for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, California, citing the novelty of competing in the Olympics on her home turf rather than abroad.
BB: Is it scary for you to acknowledge that you’re the gold-medal favorite in the 2024 Olympics?
OR: No. It’s another weightlifting competition with 12 competitors; let’s see who does well on the day.
How Olivia Reeves Made It to the 2024 Olympics
Twenty-year-old Reeves’ first international competition was in 2019 at the IWF’s Youth World Weightlifting Championships. She placed second there with a 194-kilogram Total. Five years later, she’s heading to Paris as the favorite to win it all. Here are the seven international weightlifting meets that helped Reeves book her Olympic ticket:
2022 World Weightlifting Championships
The 2022 World Weightlifting Championships was Reeves’ first Senior international event. She ranked ninth in the snatches but fifth overall, behind Paris contemporaries Palacios-Dajomes and Toma, plus two athletes from China.
2023 Pan-American Championships
Reeves slipped onto the podium at the 2023 Pan American Weightlifting Championships in Bariloche, Argentina. Ahead of her were Palacios-Dajomes in second and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Kate Vibert-Davis in first.
2023 IWF Grand Prix I
At the 2023 IWF Grand Prix I in Havana, Cuba, Reeves experienced a rare sequence of missed lifts. She failed her final two clean & jerks at 141 kilograms.
2023 World Weightlifting Championships
At the 2023 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, China’s Guifang beat Reeves by a 20-kilogram margin. However, Reeves also set a Junior world record in the clean & jerk of 142 kilograms.
2023 Pan American Games
The Pan American Games are a multi-sport athletic event in the Pan American region. Reeves competed without cutting weight and placed first in the 81-kilogram category.
2023 IWF Grand Prix II
Despite setting a massive personal record Total at the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar, Reeves once again placed third overall behind North Korea’s Song Kuk-Hyang and Guifang — but the margin separating Guifang and Reeves’ strength had closed to only two kilograms in the Total.
2024 European Weightlifting Championships
Citing travel concerns, Team USA was allowed to compete in Sofia, Bulgaria, at the 2024 European Weightlifting Championships. American athletes’ results were counted toward Paris qualification, but they did not receive medals. Reeves beat the gold medalist’s Total by 14 kilograms.
2024 IWF World Cup
Reeves had the performance of her career at the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, setting three Junior world records and finally beating China’s Guifang (and Kuk-Hyang of North Korea) to the top of the podium — a historic first for an American woman weightlifter.
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Disclaimer: Brian Oliver is an independent correspondent for BarBend. The views and opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect his own. Oliver is not directly affiliated with any of BarBend’s existing media partnerships.
Editor’s Note: BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. The two organizations maintain editorial independence unless otherwise specified.
Featured Image courtesy of USA Weightlifting
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