American weightlifter Sarah Robles took home the bronze medal in Tokyo.
Sarah Robles went into Monday’s final in the Women’s +87-kg category at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo looking to return to the medal stand. After a strong performance, Robles earned bronze for the second-straight Olympics and became the first U.S. woman to win two Olympic weightlifting medals.
It was a competition full of storylines, headlined by Laurel Hubbard and her journey to become the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. By the end of the day, Robles had stole the show.
Robles successfully completed five of her six lifts to total 282-kg (621.7lb). She went three-for-three on snatches, with her final attempt being 128-kg (282.1lb). Robles then completed a clean & jerk of 154-kg (339.5lb). She missed on her sixth and final attempt of the day. This allowed British weightlifter Emily Campbell to erase a deficit and earn silver. China’s Li Wenwen took home gold in the competition.
Sarah Robles has been one of the best powerlifters for the U.S. for nearly a decade. At 33 years old, Robles became the oldest American woman to medal at the Olympics and the second-oldest to compete. She finished sixth at the 2012 London Olympics and earned bronze during the 2016 Rio Games.
The success for Robles has not just taken place at the Olympics. Since 2009, she has represented America at the World Weightlifting Championships. This includes three gold medals in 2017 in the snatch, clean & jerk, and total. Robles has also seen great success at the Pan American Championships, where she has won overall four years in a row from 2017-2020.
Robles took to Instagram to celebrate her medal. Her performance came just one day after her birthday.
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This victory solidified Sarah Robles as one of the all-time greats in American powerlifting. It is unknown if she will compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris but if this performance was any indication, it looks like there are plenty of good years of competing left in the tank for Robles.
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