On June 29, 2022, weightlifter Katie Estep notched three Junior American Records in the 59-kilogram division at the 2022 USA Weightlifting (USAW) National Championships Week in Las Vegas, NV. Each of those records is also competition bests for Estep. According to the online database of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the performance gave Estep her fourth victory in six career contests to date.
After demonstrating some of her new strength progress on a sanctioned lifting platform, here are Estep’s top stats from this competition:
Katie Estep (59KG) | 2022 USA Weightlifting National Championships Top Stats
- Snatch — 92 kilograms (202.8 pounds) | Junior American Record | All-Time Competition Best
- Clean & Jerk — 114 kilograms (251.3 pounds) | Junior American Record | All-Time Competition Best
- Total — 206 kilograms (454.1 pounds) | Junior American Record | All-Time Competition Best
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At just 17-years-old, Estep is no stranger to notching records, especially at different levels of competition. In 2021, during the IWF Youth World Championships, Estep notched both the snatch (89 kilograms) and total (198 kilograms) Youth World Records for the 55-kilogram division. She also set the Youth American record on the snatch, clean & jerk (109 kilograms), and total.
Approximately eight months later, the young and rising American athlete can lay claim to a few more gold medals and all of the Junior American Records for a 59-kilogram competitor.
Estep at a Glance
Given her youth, Estep’s relative lack of inexperience as a competitive weightlifter should be no surprise. That said, it’s apparent she has had little trouble as an athlete since her first official IWF competition in May 2021. In fact, Estep has generally seen marked progress in just about a year of competition.
Here is Estep’s complete career resume to this stage:
Katie Estep | Complete Career Results
- 2021 IWF Junior World Championships (55KG) — Eighth place
- 2021 Pan-American Youth Championships (55KG) — First place
- 2021 IWF Youth World Championships (55KG) — First place
- 2021 Junior Pan-American Games (55KG) — First place
- 2022 IWF Junior World Championships (59KG) — Second place
- 2022 USAW National Championships (59KG) — First place
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Estep’s Goals
At the time of this writing, Estep hasn’t confirmed when she’ll aim to compete next. That said, if she’s able to train well and continue her rapid progression over the coming years, the American athlete could potentially challenge for a spot with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She’s not the only young women’s weightlifter that could be ready for the Olympics challenge.
Estep’s new top Junior total of 206 kilograms (454.1 pounds) is just 11 kilograms (24.2 pounds) off the best American mark for a Senior 59KG competitor. Team USA member Taylor Wilkins is the current Senior American Record holder on each of the snatch (95 kilograms), clean & jerk (122 kilograms), and total (217 kilograms).
It would be a tall order for anyone to overcome Wilkins for a formal roster spot at this moment in time. Still, the youthful Estep might eventually be in line for it, provided she continues the blazing start to her career. Notably, no American women’s 59-kilogram athlete finished in the top 14 of the results at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That could mean a spot is up in the air for anyone ready to grab it.
Featured image: usa_weightlifting on Instagram