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It’s a warm day in June and Olivia Reeves is training at an unassuming gym in Chattanooga, Tenn.
It’s tucked away in an industrial park and you could easily miss it. That is, except for the big white banner that hangs over the front door, with five interlocking Olympic rings in the center and Reeves’ name right beneath them.
Inside, a half dozen wooden weightlifting platforms dot the no-frills space. In the middle of Reeves' platform is a white square with an image of the Olympic flame and the words “Paris 2024.”
Reeves gets ready to train at her gym, Tennessee Speed & Strength. Melissa Golden/for NPR hide caption
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Melissa Golden/for NPR
Expectations are high that a member of the U.S. women’s weightlifting team could win gold at the Summer Olympics. And among the team’s most promising athletes is Reeves — a 21-year-old college student who is already breaking U.S. weightlifting records.
“It's incredibly exciting because she is having all this success and she's having it at such a young age,” says Cara Heads-Slaughter, who was a member of the U.S. women’s weightlifting team in 2000.
“She's on track to be the best U.S. weightlifter in women's history.”
Reeves sets her sights on a world record
Coach Steve Fauer runs through the routine with Reeves. Melissa Golden/for NPR hide caption
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Melissa Golden/for NPR
Inside the Chattanooga gym, Reeves begins her routine with coach Steve Fauer, whom she has trained with since she started focusing on weightlifting at age 13.
While Paris will be her first Olympic games, it’s far from her first time competing on the world stage. She took first place in her weight class at the IWF World Cup Paris qualifier in Thailand earlier this year.
Reeves examines the reference sheet she uses to train. The numbers and goals vary every time. Melissa Golden/Melissa Golden/National Public Radio hide caption
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Melissa Golden/Melissa Golden/National Public Radio
“It just comes down to having her prepared,” Fauer says. “I don't see why we're not going to win the gold medal. We're knocking on the door of world records. I mean, why not?”
Olympic weightlifters compete in two events.
There’s the clean and jerk, where a lifter hoists — or cleans — the bar to the top of their chest and then presses it overhead.
And then there’s the snatch, where a lifter grabs the bar with a wide grip and lifts it overhead in one continuous motion.
The weights are obviously heavy — but Olympic weightlifting isn’t all about brute strength. These lifts are full of technical precision.
“The lift is happening way too fast for you to be thinking, ‘OK, feet, hips, arms,’” says Reeves. “So for me, it's looking for a feeling. I know the feeling of a good day, I know the feeling of a good lift, as soon as the bar leaves the floor sometimes.”
In competition, athletes get three attempts at each lift. Their heaviest snatch and heaviest clean and jerk combined makes up their total. And the lifter with the highest total wins.
Reeves will compete in the 71 kilogram weight class at the Olympics. In her final qualifier she lifted a 118kg snatch and a 150kg clean and jerk for a 268kg total. That’s about 590 pounds.
Back in Chattanooga, Reeves is setting up for a 111kg snatch.
"Eleven more kilos than this would be a world record," she says. "And that is my goal at the Olympics.”
Fitness runs in the family
This Chattanooga gym may just be the training ground of gold medalists. Melissa Golden/Melissa Golden/National Public Radio hide caption
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Melissa Golden/Melissa Golden/National Public Radio
Reeves’ parents met in a gym and owned their own crossfit center when she was growing up.
She wasn’t a big fan of cardio and instead shifted her focus to weightlifting, where she soon started winning national competitions.
That led to serious family discussions: where is this all going? Is this something we need to start taking seriously or are we just having fun?
For Reeves, consistency is part of the recipe for success. Melissa Golden/for NPR hide caption
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Melissa Golden/for NPR
“And either path is totally OK,” Reeves’ mom, Amber, recalls telling her daughter. “It was, you know, led by her desire at that point.”
These days, Reeves trains alongside her sister Haley, who is two years younger and also a competitive weightlifter.
“It's definitely inspiring and motivating to train with someone at this level,” Haley says. “I mean, the amount of time we spend in the gym is doubled outside of the gym.”
Olivia Reeves, second from left, is supported by her sister, Haley, and her parents, Amber and Jason. Melissa Golden/for NPR hide caption
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Melissa Golden/for NPR
Reeves is similarly grateful that her training partner happens to be her sister, best friend and roommate. “I love having her in here,” she says. “She knows exactly what I'm doing and what I'm going through in and out of lifting.”
Reeves competed in seven qualifiers in this Olympic cycle, and kept improving her total and setting records.
Reeves, right, trains next to her sister Haley. Melissa Golden/for NPR hide caption
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Melissa Golden/for NPR
And if you watch her compete, there’s one thing that stands out: Just after finishing a big lift, she seems to always have a smile on her face.
That’s one of the reasons why Mike Gattone, USA Weightlifting’s head coach, calls her a “fun-loving calm machine.” It’s a trait that Gattone says separates the elite weightlifters from the rest: an almost superhuman belief in their own ability.
“I mean ‘machine’ in the best way,” he says. “She’s on this roll where she’s so confident in herself and her abilities. If she’s focusing on them, she’s pretty darn unstoppable.”
Some athletes tweak their training ahead of big competitions, but Reeves says she tries to create as much consistency as she can.
Reeves' chalked and calloused hands are a testament to her work ethic. Melissa Golden/for NPR hide caption
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Melissa Golden/for NPR
“Anything I really do in training, I do in competition,” she says. “I try to practice keeping it parallel across the board. The way that I walk up to the bar, the way that I approach the bar, the way they put chalk on my hands — everything is the same.”
This focus on repetition has contributed to her success so far. So much so that she’s been called one of this generation’s greatest weightlifters.
She’ll get the chance to cement that legacy when she takes the platform in Paris on Friday.
Coach Steve Fauer says there's no reason Reeves can't win gold in Paris. Melissa Golden/for NPR hide caption
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Melissa Golden/for NPR
To Reeves, though, all this talk of being a generational talent is a bit premature — and she laughs when asked about it.
“Well, the generation’s not over yet,” she says. “So how do you know?”
