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The United States’ biggest weightlifting event begins in a few days. Stateside, USA Weightlifting (USAW) hosts its National Championships Week early in the summer. The composite event includes the Senior National Championships, where the red, white, and blue’s best will battle it out.
What to know:
- Events: Youth, Junior, U23, U25, & Senior National Championships.
- Date: Jun. 21-29.
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO.
- Stream: Find streaming info here.
- Start List: Updated here as of Jun. 13. Subject to change.
Who we’re watching: Team USA has performed at record levels in recent years and now boasts several athletes who have real shots at setting world records in the new weight classes.
Some of the American heavy hitters who will take the stage in Colorado include:
- Mattie Rogers | W77
- Hampton Morris | M71
- Jourdan Delacruz | W53
- Ryan Grimsland | M79
Other athletes of note range from tenured American lifters like Jenny Arthur and CJ Cummings, to rising stars like Ryan McDonald and Ella Nicholson.
- What We're Hearing: "The competition has grown in numbers and in depth of talent," veteran Team USA member Caine Wilkes tells us. "We're improving so much, and it just wasn't the case 10 years ago. There are so many more good lifters now [at Nationals]."
You can check the updated American standards, the benchmark weights that must be passed by one kilogram to count as an official record, here.
One big thing: Olivia Reeves isn’t on the start list, as she’s prioritizing the Pan-American Championships next month, where she’ll perform in the 69KG division—her first time cutting weight for a competition. Keep reading for a peek at how her prep is going so far.
Neisi Dajomes Addresses Doping Allegations
Neisi Dajomes, 2020 76KG Olympic Champion, has issued a response to her recent provisional suspension from the International Testing Agency (ITA).
- Remind Me: Last week, Neisi was identified by the ITA for failing an out-of-competition drug test in April. According to the organization, Dajomes, 27, had traces of Clomiphene—typically used to assist with inducing pregnancy—in her sample.
You can find Neisi’s full statement on Instagram here. If you don’t speak or read Spanish, here are some of the key takeaways. Note that this is an approximated summary:
Neisi intends to confront the allegations with “total transparency, ethics, and commitment to the truth.”
After her win in Tokyo in 2021, Dajomes started thinking more seriously about motherhood, a “vital aspect” of her “lifelong project."
She began seeking medical assistance for fertility in Jan. 2025.
Neisi acknowledges an “involuntary administrative fault” while going through the medical exemption process with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Dajomes is currently pursuing a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) while her case is underway.
She hopes her case will “be analyzed with rigor and sensitivity,” stressing that the circumstances highlight the unique challenges of being a female athlete.
Neisi continues to affirm her “commitment to clean sport” and will continue training for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Lifts You Need to See
Weightlifting happens everywhere. Luckily, you don’t have to worry about keeping up with it all—we’re always on duty. Here are some of the best lifts we caught in the past week:
- Kiana Elliot (58KG, AUS) totaled 209 at a local competition. Kiana has one of the best-looking jerks in the game, and is focusing on the Commonwealth Games next year.
- Ryan McDonald (88KG, USA) smashed a 245KG back squat. He calls it “choosing to be awesome”—we think it’s the belt.
- Guðný Björk Stefánsdóttir (69KG, ISL) also hit a stellar squat PR at 170KG. Her international best clean & jerk is 118. Looks like she’s due for an upgrade on the platform.
- Eygló Fanndal Sturludóttir (69KG, ISL), the final 71KG European Champion, smashed some new bests in training; 110 in the snatch and 138 in the clean & jerk.
- Ruslan Nurudinov (110KG, UZB) finally revealed how he manages to stay in world-record shape after such a long career. We won’t spoil it for you, see for yourself.
- Ritvars Suharevs (79KG, LAT) hit 133 and 170 in his first meet after the Paris Olympics (and subsequent shoulder surgery). Fun fact: Ritvars ended Shi Zhiyong’s 11-year international win streak at the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II.
- Olivia Reeves (69KG, USA) is still doing what she does best; hitting outrageous numbers. On Monday, she posted a 186KG front squat (yes, front) to her Instagram story.
Going deeper: Olivia is cutting weight for this year’s Pan-Ams, but plans on moving up to the 77KG class for Paris. Her 186KG front squat is so massive we had trouble contextualizing it at first, but it’s quite close to this 180KG lift by retired Russian phenom Olga Zubova.
Zubova was one of Russia’s strongest women’s weightlifters, ever. Some highlights include block snatching 120KG for 4 and jerking 170KG for a double off blocks. Zubova competed at 75KG and her best standing international total (she faced multiple doping sanctions in the 2010s) is 279.
Reeves is at 268.
