Over 1750 Lifters Travel to Colorado Springs for the 2023 USA Weightlifting National Championship Event

USA Weightlifting held the largest national championship event to date with a record breaking 1760 athletes competing in the 2023 National Championships week, June 24-July 2 in Colorado Springs. Lifters from across the country convened in the Pikes Peak region to compete in the Youth, Junior, , Under 23, Under 25, and Senior divisions, as Colorado Springs hosted the event for the first time in its 96-year history. Under the new format, which began in 2021, 51 sessions of competition took place across three platforms at the Ed Robson Arena on the Colorado College campus.

In addition to the large number of lifters testing their skills against the best athletes in the United States, over 400 coaches were on site to assist their athletes and more than 100 technical officials volunteered their team to ensure the weeklong event was successful.

USA Weightlifting enjoyed a special visit from U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland during the week as she came out to support all of our competitors and the event.

USA Weightlifting crowned more than 100 national champions across all the age and weight divisions in Colorado Springs. Two of the lifters taking home titles competed in the 2023 National Adaptive Championships. Samantha Love won the women’s division with a total of 132 kg while Ray Harkness took gold in the men’s competition with a total of 142 kg.

In the senior division, 19 lifters won national championships at the end of the week. The1 0 female competitors claiming gold were Gretchen Villa, Isabella Rodriguez, Katelyn Kirby, Shayla Moore, Taylor Lucas, Alexia Gonzalez, Andrea Barrows, Shacasia Johnson, Sarah Barnett, and Sarah Oschmann. On the men’s side, Gabe Chhum, Hampton Morris, Travis Cooper, Edward Ginnan, Brandon Victorian, Layne Palm, Trevor Kimm, Kolbi Ferguson and Keiser Witte all recorded national championship winning lifts in Colorado Springs.  

Seven American records were broken throughout the week. Congratulations to Dandre Adams, Jaimon Mogard, Bradley Bates, Michael Ziss, Laney Yost and Cicely Kyle for their American record lifts. Youth World Champion Ella Nicholson broke her own American record in the snatch with a 102 kg lift to take the gold medal and Best Lifter award in the women’s 16-17-year-old division.

In addition to Nicholson, Maryan Grafton, Bradley Bates, Adelyn Jones, Carter Sing, Zakaria Naas, Bryn Odberg, Zackary Burks, Shacasia Johnson, Keiser Witte, Taylor Babb, Blaine Brooks, Sophia Shaft, and Hampton Morris all claimed Best Lifter awards in their respective categories.

Six teams from across the country claimed team titles at the 2023 USA Weightlifting National Championships. Power and Grace Performance scored team championships in the Women’s, Under 13 female, 14-15-year-old female, and 16-17-year-old female divisions.

Florida Elite also won team championships in multiple divisions, taking top honors in the men’s, junior men’s, and junior women’s categories.

The Coffee Weightlifting team grabbed two championships in Colorado Springs, winning the Under 13 male and 16-17-year-old male categories.

Speed Power Strength won the team championship in the 14-15-year-old male category while Bobcat Barbell and the

University of Texas squad took the team titles in the Under 25 women and men’s divisions respectively.

Thank you to everyone who participated and attended the 2023 USA Weightlifting National Championships, we look forward to seeing you next year!

For full event results, click here.

USA Weightlifting’s full national calendar is available here.