[USA Weightlifting News - National Championships -- Day 1]
(Columbus,
Ohio)- The word of the day was
“repeat” as the first day of competition wrapped up at the 2012 USA
Weightlifting (USAW) National Championships. With the American Strongman
Competition going on across the hall at the Arnold Sports Festival, it was the USAW’s
“Strongest Team in America”
that stole the show.
Caleb Williams (Atlanta,
Ga.) was the first to hold onto
his crown as repeating National Champion.
Competing in the 69kg category, Williams was able to secure is place in
the history books by breaking both the American Clean & Jerk record, and
the total record as well. Williams
finished with a 128 kg snatch, a 170 kg and a 298 kg total which was well ahead
of the rest of the field.
2004 and 2008 Olympian Chad Vaughn (Florence, Texas)
was the next returning champion to step up and defend his crown. Vaughn blew away the 77 kg field putting up a
141 kg snatch and powering up an impressive 184 kg in the clean and jerk and
finishing with a 325 kg total. Vaughn
clearly sits at the top of the 77 kg weight class, as everyone else continues
to pursue his throne in vain.
The last returning champion to defend their crown on Friday
was Kendrick Farris (Shreveport,
La.). After “bombing out” it the American Open in
December 2011, many people wondered how the 2008 Olympian would bounce
back. Farris put all of those questions
to rest as he went six for six in his attempts, and made just about all of them
look easy finishing with a 355 kg total.
The ever popular Barnes brothers (Florissant, Mo.)
continue to amaze the USA Weightlifting community, and this time they did it in
record fashion. In the 85 year history
of USAW’s National Championships, no set of brothers have ever won the title in
the same year and on the same day.
History was made as the fraternal twins Darren and Darrel won the 56 kg
category and the 62 kg category respectively.
Darren put up a total of 221 kg while Darrel finished with a 251 kg
total. These 18 year old brothers
continue to leave the audiences in awe.
The best battle was saved for last, as the 94 kg weight
class saw the National Championship change hands with each of the last three
lifters holding claim to the top spot.
Holding on to a slim lead, Jonathan North (San Ramon, Calif.)
came to the platform for a 188 clean and jerk attempt that would have extended
his lead and would have put pressure on the remainder of the field. When North was unable to complete the lift,
he left the door wide open for Phil Sabatini (Oakmont,
Pa.) and Ian Wilson (Berkeley, Calif.). Sabatini was next up and after having already
completed a 155 kg snatch, he needed to put up 189 kg on the clean and jerk to
take the lead. An intense Sabatini
stepped up to the plate and completed his lift to put him in first place for
the time being. An ecstatic Sabatini
came off the stage to hugs from his coach, seemingly feeling he had the
championship in hand. However, Wilson had yet to have
his say. The powerful 18 year old came
to the stage needing 3 kg to catch Sabatini and ultimately pass him due to the
bodyweight tie-breaker. Asking for 192
kg on the bar, Wilson
stepped up for his first attempt to claim the National Championship. After a successful clean, Wilson was unable to complete the jerk. With no one left behind him, Wilson had two minutes left on the clock to
contemplate what needed to be done to become champion. After collecting
himself, Wilson
stepped up to the bar once again, this time successfully putting up the 192 kg
clean and jerk which put him at a 344 kg total.
Wilson’s camp broke out into a monster
celebration as they realized that Wilson
had just taken the title from Sabatini’s grasp. With both Sabatini and Wilson
finishing with a 344 kg total, Wilson
won due to the fact that he weighed in at a lower body weight (93.74 kg to
Sabatini’s 94 kg body weight). Thus the
first day of a standing room only competition finished with a bang.
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