The American Open National Weightlifting Championships will take place Dec. 10-12 at the Holiday Inn Eastgate.
The competition will involve the United States championships in two lifts, the snatch and the clean-and-jerk that are the two weight lifting events recognized in the Olympics.
The focus of the snatch is to lift a barbell from a platform to a position of locked arms overhead in a smooth continuous movement. The lifter receives the ball in a squatting position and is requires to rise to lift the weight over the head.
The focus of the clean and jerk lift is divided into two distinct segments. The clean segment of the lift involves a fast, or explosive, lift of the weight on the barbell from the floor.
The clean portion involves a swift, coordinated movement to lift the barbell across the deltoids and clavicles.
Competitors will be men and women of all ages and there will be a team competition category.
Several of the contestants are former Olympians. Fred Lowe, who is in his early 60s and is a four-time Olympian, will be among the weight lifters.
Chris Cleary, president of Cincinnati Weightlifting, pointed out another competitor of interest is Keith Connolly who has been in training and entering meets for almost two years.
Connolly was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis just last year and earlier this year he underwent surgery which stopped his training for the national championships for approximately 10 weeks. He began workouts again in August and in September he qualified for this weekend’s American Open. He will be in attendance and will be lifting and he has set his sites on establishing new personal records.
Cleary expects approximately 250 lifters to be contending in what he stated is the largest meet of this sort taking place in Ohio in the last 10 years.
The starting times for the 10th will be 10 a. m. and 7 p. m., Saturday is expected to last from 9 a. m. – 5 p. m., and Sunday 10 a. m. – 4 p. m.