Mattie Rogers will not be denied when it comes to setting new bars of weightlifting excellence.
On July 28, 2022, during the 2022 Pan-American Championships in Bogotá, Colombia, Rogers’ combination of overhead strength and leg power was displayed again. During the contest, the 76-kilogram weightlifter captured a 141-kilogram (310.8-pound) clean & jerk to set a new Senior American Record. The mark surpasses Rogers’ previous record from the 2022 USA Weightlifting (USAW) National Championships Week by one kilogram (2.2 pounds).
Thanks to that new record clean & jerk figure, a 111-kilogram (244.7-pound) top snatch, and a 252-kilogram (555.5 pounds) total — Rogers took home three gold medals in the 76-kilogram division. It’s the American athlete’s second Pan-American title in three years (2020, 2022).
Check out a video of Rogers’ American Record clean & jerk from her Instagram profile:
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Notably, between Junior and Senior competitions, Rogers’ victory means the weightlifter has now stood on the Pan-American podium for nine straight years.
Here’s a top stat rundown of Rogers’ complete performance at the 2022 Pan-American Championships:
Mattie Rogers (76KG) | 2022 Pan-American Championships Top Stats
- Snatch — 111 kilograms
- Clean & Jerk — 141 kilograms | Senior American Record
- Total — 252 kilograms
Rogers’ total is her best ever from an international competition. It’s just three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of her National best from the 2021 USAW Weightlifting National Championships. Rogers unsuccessfully attempted a 114-kilogram (251.3-pound) snatch, which would’ve given her a new personal record (PR). Current 76-kilogram Olympic Champion Neisi Dajomes owns the Pan-American snatch record of 118 kilograms (260.1 pounds).
In Rogers’ Instagram post, she reflected on what went into her latest achievement. She also looked ahead to coming potential challenges in her future.
“Definitely not exactly according to plan today, but a valuable experience to prep for Worlds this year, also in Bogotá [Colombia],” Rogers writes. “I worked out the kinks (i.e., maybe let’s not lose three kilograms upon arrival again, or I don’t know … remember how to clean without a WWE smackdown choke holding myself). I’m ready to keep this upward trend moving. Time to bid a sad, sad farewell to the 76-kilogram weight class once again and start our Olympic qualification in the 81-kilogram class.”
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A Seamless Transition
As Rogers alludes, the weightlifter will likely shift to the 81-kilogram division at the upcoming 2022 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships. That contest will also occur in Bogotá, Colombia, sometime in December 2022. At the time of this writing, the IWF organization has not announced a definite date for the contest.
Rogers’ shift in weight class is necessary for her long-term ambitions because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not include the 76-kilogram division in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Rogers will attempt to successfully qualify for her second straight Olympic Games in the coming years. (Note: Rogers finished sixth in the 87-kilogram weight class in her first Olympics during Tokyo 2020.)
Rogers, 26, has moved around divisions at intermittent points throughout her career. She has experience in the 81-kilogram division, as she won her first Senior Pan-American Championship in 2020 in that division. The American athlete also took home gold in the 81-kilogram weight class at the 2021 USAW Weightlifting National Championships.
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With the 2022 Worlds acting as a significant initial step in qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris — Rogers and other American athletes will have to feature in the division they plan on competing in France. Whether Rogers can translate that same success in the 81-kilogram division to future contests remains to be seen. Given her past high-level precedent, it wouldn’t be an unlikely development.
Featured image: @mattierogersoly on Instagram