Olympic Debut foe Mattie Rogers is Proud Statement of Commitment
To start off the women’s 87-kilogram A session on Monday at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Team USA’s Mattie Rogers (87kg; Apopka, Florida; Catalyst Athletics) showed the same grit and commitment that has earned her medals at the IWF World Championships for three years straight.
M. Rogers Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Rogers competed in the Olympics for the first time in Tokyo, and despite being somewhat overweight for the category, she finished in sixth place.
Rogers, a two-time World Championship medalist at 69 and 71 kilogrammes, had to go up a weight class to make it into the 71 kilogramme weight category for the Tokyo Olympics.
Rogers claimed that he was ready for the transition because he had “thought” he was. My bodyweight is 77 kilogrammes, therefore I competed in the 76 kilogramme class since I felt more at home there and wanted to see how I fared against competitors of a similar size. But that’s no reason to let yourself down in any division. Unfortunately, today wasn’t my lucky day.
Rogers made her maiden Olympic lift of 108 kilogrammes in her first international competition at a weight of 87 kg. Her second Snatch attempt at 111 kg, which would have set a new American record, was also unsuccessful.
On her third try, she managed to lift 112 kilogrammes, which was first deemed a good lift until being reversed by the panel due to a press-out on her left elbow.
She said, “I’ve been fighting with my anxiety the last two days, and I believe it’s just all caught up to me a little bit.” The last turn of the lift’s inverted mechanism sent it into a tailspin. I feel that if I had done that, I would have been in a better position to compete for a medal. Without that lift flipping over, I think today would have gone very differently.
Rogers failed her first two efforts at 138 kg in the Clean and Jerk, but on her third and final attempt at that weight, she triumphantly lifted it, leaving her in tears on the Olympic platform.
Rogers replied, “I was just pleased to make it honestly.” when asked about her performance on the Clean and Jerks. I didn’t anticipate having to fight for something I didn’t expect to be able to win: a medal. But I’m glad I managed to create even just one.
With a total of 246 kilogrammes, Rogers came in at number six, just one kilogramme shy of fifth and ten off the podium.
Wang Zhouyu of China won gold with a 270-kilogram total, giving the country its sixth gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics. She shared the top spot with the Dominican Republic’s Crismery Santana (256 kilogrammes) and Ecuador’s Tamara Salazar (263 kilogrammes). With a Clean and Jerk of 150 kg and a total of 263 kilogrammes, Salazar established two new Pan American records.
Despite Rogers’s failure to win the medal she had hoped for, she is still considered one of the best weightlifters in the United States.
Rogers explored CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting after pursuing careers in gymnastics and cheerleading. With winning silver in the Snatch and overall and bronze in the Clean and Jerk at 69 kilogrammes at the 2017 IWF World Championships, Rogers made history as the first American woman to win a World medal in 12 years.
The next year, she continued her success at the World Championships, winning bronze in the 71-kilogram Clean and Jerk. Rogers has a medal in the Clean and Jerk, a bronze in the Total at 71 kg, and a silver in the Snatch from 2019. She’s the only American female athlete to ever win a medal at three straight Worlds.
Before he had that success, Rogers had been an alternate on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team and had gone to Rio.
“I’m happy to be an Olympian,” she declared. I really hope tomorrow is better for me. I know in my heart that I could have made today better.
Later on Monday, Sarah Robles will compete in the +87kg division in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. On Tuesday, Wes Kitts will participate in the 109 kilogramme weight class, and on Wednesday, Caine Wilkes will do the same in the plus-109 kilogramme weight class, completing Team USA’s competition schedule.
