Olivia Reeves wins first U.S. weightlifting Olympic gold medal in 24 years

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Olivia Reeves, of the U.S.A., performs a snatch during the women's weightlifting 71kg on Friday at the South Paris Arena during the Paris Summer Olympics. She won the U.S.'s first weightlifting gold in 24 years. / Getty Images

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PARIS — The drought is over.

U.S. weightlifter Olivia Reeves won a gold medal in her Olympic debut, bringing the U.S. team its gold medal since before Reeves was born.

Reeves, 21 and a student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was widely favored to win the gold medal after a string of impressive performances in international competition. The last time the U.S. brought home a gold medal was in 2000, at the Sydney Games. That was the first Olympic Games that included women’s weightlifting as part of the program.

Cara Heads-Slaughter, who was a member of the U.S. women’s weightlifting Olympic team in 2000, told NPR that Reeves is “on track to be the best U.S. weightlifter in women’s history.”

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’ totaled 262 kilograms, or roughly 577 pounds.

She also set an Olympic record with her 117 kilogram snatch, or roughly 258 pounds. Though Reeves had already won the gold medal, she attempted a 150 kilogram clean and jerk to set a new Olympic record in that lift too. But she could not complete the lift.

Mari Leivis Sanchez of Colombia took home the silver medal. Ecuador's Angie Paola Palacios won bronze.