KC Weightlifting Fall Open Meet Report

Saturday the 26th was a good morning to show up to the KC Weightlifting Fall Open both as a coach and as a loader for the kids’ event. I was excited to do both.  

The sun was shining, the air was crisp and charged with the excitement and possibility that only exists in those quiet moments that precede a weightlifting competition. 

The kids weighed in at 7:30 AM and started lifting at 9:30 AM.  As a coach, it was simply wonderful to see so many kids having fun at the sport I love.  These young athletes were as young as seven years old! They lifted well and had a great time doing it! I was a loader, along with Mike Goodman.  We had an absolute blast setting up the lift for the kids AND cheering them on from the sidelines in between the lifts. This portion of the event went quickly and ran like a well-oiled machine.

The day started with an easy and relaxed pace. 

Weigh-in was at 9:00 the morning of the meet, and Mia made her weight at 87kg on the dot.  After weighing in, the athletes all grabbed a bite of food and patiently waited for the time for warmup to come.  Lifting was to start at 11:00.

Around 10:15, I asked mia to start moving around and start in on her pre-warmup routine.  After she had gone through her mobility and pre-lifting ritual, we started warming her up with the barbell in hand.  Warm-up lifts provided zero surprises, and the weights felt light in her hands.  We both knew that today had the potential to be good.

When the warmups were completed, we both knew Mia’s opening lift was coming soon.  She hit one least snatch pull and patiently waited for her name to be called.  She confidently walked up to the platform and pulled a strong opener at 65kg.  The weight flew up and felt light.  We called for a 3kg increase, which brought her second attempt to 68kg.  We both waited as the other females lifted. 

When the time came for her next attempt Mia, again, confidently walked up the bar, wrapped her hands around its cold knurling, and got into position. The lift started, that 68kg loaded barbell broke from gravity’s hold on the ground, was pulled into position, and exploded overhead.  Mia had put incredible power into the bar, and the lift was judged good!

At this point in the meet, Mia was feeling strong, and I agreed. 

We called for 72kg to be placed on the bar for her next attempt.  This was a weight she hasn’t snatched in years. We patiently waited for the other lifters to lift so Mia could have her final go at the snatch.  The time came, and her performance was just as strong as the two previous attempts! Without drama, she made her final lift!  This was not an all-time personal best, but a personal best for this time in her life.  I think it would be an understatement to say we were both excited when all three judges deemed the lift good!  

Next was a ten-minute break as the bar was cleaned and staff set up for the Clean and Jerk portion of the meet.  During this time, the lifters started warming up.  Mia went through her warm-up lifts and was moving fast.  Mia hit one last clean pull as we waited for her name to be called.

The time came, and she walked up to the platform. She gripped the bar, set her eyes in the distance, and pulled.  Her 82kg opener flew from the ground.  She caught the bar in a strong power clean.  Mia set her feet, fixed her eyes on the horizon one more time, and executed a powerfully fast Jerk.  Three white lights from the judges told us the lift was good!

As Mia walked back toward me from the platform, she told me felt strong. 

Together, we decided her next attempt would be 87kg. The time came, and she approached the bar precisely as she had in the previous four lifts.  She grabbed the bar, set her eyes, and broke the weight from the ground.  Something was off.  She missed the lift forward in the receiving position as too much weight was in her toes.  After this lift, as she walked back to the warm-up area, she told me that it felt really heavy off the floor.  This surprised both of us.  We asked to have the same weight loaded for the next and last attempt.  That last attempt played out the same way.

We sat in our seats and waited for the other lifters to finish.  Once everyone was done, we took a short break and waited for awards.  

Both of our ears perked up as we both heard Mia’s name called!  She won first place in the Female 87kg+ class!  Mia stood on the podium and was awarded her medal!  We took pictures, had a laugh, and called it a day.

We saved our critique of the day for the next time we saw each other in the gym.  The rest of the day was all about enjoying what this particular Saturday had to offer.

Mia pulled off the heaviest snatch she’s hit in years and takes home a 154 total. The KC Weightlifting Fall Open certainly was a fine way to spend a Saturday with one of my athletes.

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