Wesley Kitts

American weightlifter (born 1990)

Wes Kitts

Personal information

Full name| Wesley Brian Kitts
Born|  (1990-05-22) May 22, 1990 (age 34)
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Weight| 108.45 kg (239 lb)
Sport
Country| United States
Sport| Weightlifting
Weight class| 109 kg
Club| BE SOMEBODY Gym
Coached by| David Spitz[1]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests|

* Snatch: 177 kg (2021)
* Clean & jerk: 223 kg (2019)
* Total: 399 kg (2019)

Medal record

Men's weightlifting
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
| 2019 Lima | –109 kg
Pan American Championships
| 2018 Santo Domingo | –105 kg
| 2019 Guatemala City | –109 kg
| 2023 Bariloche | –109 kg
| 2017 Miami | –105 kg

Wesley Brian "Wes" Kitts (/ˈwɛs/ WESS; born May 22, 1990)[2][3] is an American weightlifter, two time Pan American Champion and Pan American Games Champion competing in the 105 kg category until 2018 and 109 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories.[4]

## Career

[edit]

In 2018 he competed at the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships in the 109 kg division finishing 10th overall.[5]

In 2019 he competed at the 2019 Pan American Weightlifting Championships in the 109 kg division winning a silver medal in the snatch and gold medals in the clean & jerk, his total of 399 kg was 17 kg more than the silver medalist,[6] and a new Pan American record. On July 30 he competed in the 109 kg division at the Pan American Games. After the snatch portion he was in fourth place, a total of 18 kg behind Jorge Arroyo, he was able to complete his third lift of 217 kg in the clean & jerk to win the gold medal by 1 kg.[7][8]

He represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[9] He finished eighth with a total lift of 390 kg.

He won the gold medal in his event at the 2023 Pan American Weightlifting Championships held in Bariloche, Argentina.[10]

In August 2024, Kitts competed in the men's 102 kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France.[11] He lifted 374 kg in total and finished in eighth position.[11]

## Major results

[edit]

Year  | Venue  | Weight  | Snatch (kg)  | Clean & Jerk (kg)  | Total  | Rank

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | 2  | 3  | Rank  | 1  | 2  | 3  | Rank
Olympic Games
2021 | Tokyo, Japan | 109 kg | 173 | ~~177~~ | 177 | — | ~~213~~ | 213 | ~~220~~ | — | 390 | 8
2024 | Paris, France | 102 kg | 167 | 172 | ~~177~~ | — | 202 | ~~210~~ | ~~210~~ | — | 374 | 8
World Championships
2017 | Anaheim, United States | 105 kg | 165 | ~~172~~ | 176 | 11 | ~~202~~ | 203 | 210 | 10 | 386 | 10
2018 | Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | 109 kg | 168 | ~~174~~ | ~~174~~ | 18 | 208 | 215 | 222 | 5 | 390 | 12
2019 | Pattaya, Thailand | 109 kg | 170 | ~~175~~ | ~~177~~ | 18 | 211 | 218 | ~~225~~ | 12 | 388 | 14
2022 | Bogota, Colombia | 102 kg | ~~164~~ | 165 | 170 | 11 | 202 | ~~207~~ | 209 | 7 | 379 | 8
2023 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 109 kg | 160 | 165 | 170 | 9 | 191 | 200 | — | 13 | 370 | 11
Pan American Games
2019 | Lima, Peru | 109 kg | 165 | ~~171~~ | 172 | — | 207 | 214 | 217 | — | 389 |
Pan American Championships
2016 | Cartagena, Colombia | 105 kg | ~~152~~ | 152 | 165 | 5 | 188 | ~~201~~ | ~~208~~ | 7 | 353 | 4
2017 | Miami, United States | 105 kg | 162 | 170 | 175 |  | 200 | ~~208~~ | ~~209~~ | 5 | 375 |
2018 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 105 kg | 165 | 172 | ~~181~~ |  | 202 | ~~211~~ | 212 |  | 384 |
2019 | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 109 kg | 165 | ~~172~~ | 176 |  | 207 | 214 | 223 |  | 399 |
2020 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 109 kg | 155 | 160 | ~~165~~ |  | 190 | — | — | 5 | 350 | 4
2023 | Bariloche, Argentina  | 109 kg  | 155  | 160  | 165 |  | 190  | 200 | —  |  | 365 |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Athlete Biography". IWF.net. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
2. ^ "KITTS Wes". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
3. ^ "Wes Kitts Team USA". Team USA. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
4. ^ PDF listing of 2018 Group B world championship entrants in 109 kg
5. ^ "Kitts hits personal bests at the 2018 IWF World Weightlifting Championships". Team USA. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
6. ^ "2019 Pan American Championships Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
7. ^ "2019 Pan American Games Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
8. ^ "PAN AMERICAN GAMES DAY 3 - AS IT HAPPENED". Olympic Channel. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
9. ^ OlympicTalk (June 19, 2021). "U.S. Olympic team roster: Athletes qualified for Tokyo Games". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
10. ^ Oliver, Brian (April 1, 2023). "US Olympic silver medallist beaten as Pan American Weightlifting Championships conclude". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
11. ^ a b "Weightlifting Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Wesley Kitts at the International Weightlifting Federation
* Wesley Kitts at Olympics.com
* Wesley Kitts at Olympedia

* v
* t
* e

Pan American Champions in Weightlifting – Men's Heavyweight

+90 kg (1951–1967) · 110 kg (1971–1991) · 108 kg (1995) · 105 kg (1999–2015) · 109 kg (2019) · 102 kg (2023–)

* 1951:  John Davis (USA)
* 1955:  Norbert Schemansky (USA)
* 1959:  Dave Ashman (USA)
* 1963:  Sydney Henry (USA)
* 1967:  Joseph Dube (USA)
* 1971:  Gary Deal (USA)
* 1975:  Russ Prior (CAN)
* 1979:  Mark Cameron (USA)
* 1983:  Kevin Roy (CAN)
* 1987:  David Bolduc (CAN)
* 1991:  Ernesto Montoya (CUB)
* 1995:  Wes Barnett (USA)
* 1999:  Boris Burov (ECU)
* 2003:  Boris Burov (ECU)
* 2007:  Joel Mackenzie (CUB)
* 2011:  Jorge Arroyo (ECU)
* 2015:  Jesús González (VEN)
* 2019:  Wesley Kitts (USA)
* 2023:  Jhonatan Rivas (COL)

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