How Olivia Reeves became one of the best weightlifters — and a gold medal favorite

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Weightlifting is one of the oldest Olympic sports. It was part of the first modern Olympic Games way back in 1896. But women did not start competing at the Olympic level until 2000. That year, Tara Nott-Cunningham brought home a gold medal in weightlifting - the first and only American woman to do that until maybe this year. Our co-host Juana Summers joins me now from Paris. She's been reporting there on the Games these last few weeks. Hey, Juana.

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Hi, Mary Louise.

KELLY: Hi. So I know you are super into weightlifting, even when it's not an Olympic year. Tell us what you're looking forward to there in Paris.

SUMMERS: Oh, my gosh, this has been such a dream come true, but there is one storyline in particular that's caught my eyes. This year, there are just sky-high expectations for this entire U.S. team. And at the center of it is this young woman that I met earlier this year. And she's really just sent shock waves through the sport and people like me who are big fans of it. Her name is Olivia Reeves. She's 21 and a college student, and people who watch weightlifting really closely thinks she just might have what it takes to take home gold at her first Olympics here in Paris.

We met Olivia at her training gym in Chattanooga, Tenn. It's tucked away in an industrial park, and you might miss it, except for the huge white banner that hangs over the front door with Olivia's name in big blue letters under the five interlocking Olympic rings.

OLIVIA REEVES: Steve, do you want me to open the front door?

SUMMERS: Inside, the gym is no frills with a half dozen wooden weightlifting platforms. Dozens of flags representing countries around the world hang from the ceiling.

STEVE FAUER: You just did 87, right? Yeah, let's go 92 for a single.

SUMMERS: And Olivia's longtime coach, Steve Fauer, is ratcheting up the weight for her next lift.

FAUER: You know, it just comes down to having her prepared. 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?

SUMMERS: Olympic weightlifters are tested on two skills. There's the clean and jerk, where a lifter hoists - or cleans - the bar to the top of the chest and then presses it overhead.

(SOUNDBITE OF BARBELL SLAMMING)

SUMMERS: And then there's the snatch, where a lifter grabs the bar with a wide grip and lifts it overhead in one continuous motion.

(SOUNDBITE OF BARBELL CLATTERING)

SUMMERS: The weights are heavy, but Olympic weightlifting isn't all about brute strength. These lifts are full of technical precision and speed.

O REEVES: The lift is happening way too fast for you to be thinking about, OK, feet, hips, arms. Like, it's way too much. So for me, it's looking for a feeling. And 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.

SUMMERS: 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. And Olivia's total at this year's final Olympic qualifier, a combined 268 kilos - or 590 pounds - puts her in first place for her 71-kilo weight class.

FAUER: OK, you stay here...

O REEVES: OK.

FAUER: ...For a couple more sets of two.

SUMMERS: Physical fitness is something that runs in the Reeves family. Olivia's parents met in a gym, and when Olivia was growing up, her parents owned a crossfit gym. Her mom, Amber, worked there full-time. And she remembers that Olivia was not the biggest fan of cardio.

AMBER REEVES: I can remember one workout, and there was running involved. And she came back from running, and there were tears (laughter) because she did not want to do it anymore. Her passion just became about, you know, lifting weights because she really enjoyed that part of exercise.

SUMMERS: From there, Olivia's focus shifted to weightlifting. She was 13 years old. I asked her parents when they knew that Olivia had real promise as an athlete. This is her father, Jason.

JASON REEVES: She started winning national competitions for her age group and weight class.

A REEVES: Well, then having a discussion with Olivia of, like, where do you see this going, you know? I mean, is this something we need to take serious and invest some real energy, effort and time into this? Or are we just kind of having fun? And either path is totally OK.

SUMMERS: Today, Olivia trains alongside her younger sister, Haley, who is also a competitive weightlifter.

HALEY REEVES: I would say it's definitely inspiring and motivating to train with someone at this level. And, I mean, the amount of time we spend in the gym is doubled outside of the gym.

O REEVES: She's my sister, best friend, roommate, training partner, manager. Like, she does it all.

SUMMERS: Reeves competed in seven qualifiers in this Olympic cycle and kept improving her total and setting records. And if you watch her compete, there is just this one thing that stands out. After she makes these huge lifts, she always seems to have just a big smile on her face. This is Mike Gattone, USA Weightlifting's head coach. I asked him what he thought Reeves could accomplish in Paris.

MIKE GATTONE: I'm hoping to see what we always see from Olivia, which is a fun-loving, calm machine. She's pretty darn unstoppable.

SUMMERS: Some athletes tweak their training ahead of big competitions. But Olivia told us she's sticking with what works. She trains just four times a week, which she and her coach say helps her stay healthy and also keep balance. She is an Olympian but also a college student finishing her undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

O REEVES: For me, anything I really do in training, I do in competition. It doesn't change other than, like, my hair is braided, or - that's about it. So 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 that I put chalk on my hands, everything is the same.

SUMMERS: So no tweaks in the lead-up to Paris, just the same thing you've been doing for years?

O REEVES: Pretty much. I'll just be in another country for some of it.

SUMMERS: Olivia is always this nonchalant when she talks about her training. She is focused on repetition because it brings her success. She just exudes confidence, so I asked her where that confidence comes from.

O REEVES: Essentially, when I go out there, it feels like a black hole, and I don't really remember what happens. So I can, I guess, I mean, just simplify it into letting the autopilot take over - trusting that I've done hours and hours of training, and I can let it go for a lift and it'll work out.

SUMMERS: When people talk about you and write about you in the sport, they say things like that you're one of this generation's greatest weightlifters. How does that - I see you laughing. How does that make you feel, to hear people talk about you in that way?

O REEVES: Well, the generation is not over yet, so how do you know? You don't know yet. It just makes me laugh 'cause I'm, like, in here all the time. It's weird to think that of all the people that I get to be that title. I don't know. It's weird.

KELLY: Great interviewing there by our colleague, Juana Summers, who has been listening in. And, Juana, Olivia Reeves - she takes the platform this Friday, right, August 9?

SUMMERS: Yeah, that's right. And I have to say, I actually got the opportunity to catch up with Olivia just briefly to ask her how she was feeling. And what I really wanted to know is that consistency that she was talking about, to what degree she was able to keep it. And she told me she's tried really hard to keep everything exactly the same as when she trains back in Tennessee, but she's made some concessions. She's had to create some new day-to-day routines...

KELLY: Yeah.

SUMMERS: ...As she adapts to life in Paris and the Olympic village. And she lifts on Friday. I am hoping to see that in person and see if that approach has paid off.

KELLY: We will be watching. That's my ALL THINGS CONSIDERED co-host Juana Summers reporting from Paris and the Olympic Games. Thank you, Juana.

SUMMERS: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF TAKUYA KURODA'S "RISING SON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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