Sarah Robles Wins Bronze, First Medal In 16 Years For USA Weightlifting

Sarah Robles made history in Rio di Janeiro on Sunday night by becoming the first American weightlifter to win an Olympic medal since 2000.

Sarah Robles Wins Bronze, First Medal In 16 Years For USA Weightlifting

Her coach’s message to her before her final lift at Riocentro – Pavilion 2 was this: less than ten seconds separated Robles from a personal goal and a historic performance.

“I said to her, ‘Do you want to be on the medal stand? This is your opportunity,’” said Tim Swords, Robles’ coach. “’This is five seconds against the rest of your life.’ I said, ‘What do you want to do?’ You gotta bring it now, and you gotta go for it. Just five seconds of your life. This is going to change your life. Five seconds.’”

A lift of 160kg. after five grueling lifts, each one heavier than the last, gave the Mexican-American her first Olympic medal, a bronze in the +75 kg. weight class. It also marked Team USA’s first medal in women’s weightlifting in 16 years.

Robles, 28, lifted a combined 286 kg., including 126 kg. in the snatch and 160 kg. in the clean and jerk. She finished 21kg. behind China’s Suping Meng, who won the gold medal. Kuk Hyang Kim of North Korea took home silver.

Although an Olympic medal was the ultimate goal, Robles confessed she was simply aiming to have her best day on the big stage.

“I wasn’t really thinking about medals I just really thinking about having Sarah’s day,” Robles explained to USA Weightlifting. “if it got me medals, cool, if it didn’t then at least I had the best day. You can’t complain when you do your absolute best.”

Tara Nott and Cheryl Haworth were the last two U.S. women to win an Olympic medal; both won at the Sydney 2000 Games. Nott won gold in women’s flyweight, while Haworth took home bronze in super heavyweight, Robles’ class.

Robles, a San Diego native, began weightlifting in 2008 as a way to help her train for track and field. She threw shot put and discus in high school and added hammer throw in college.

Four years later, she qualified for the Olympic team for the London 2012 Games, where she finished seventh. Following a two-year suspension for testing positive for the banned substance DHEA, which she says was recommended by a doctor to assist in treating her polycystic ovary syndrome, Robles returned last year, finishing sixth at the 2015 World Championships.

Nevertheless, she suffered a small wrist injury at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. This didn’t cause Robles to lose hope ahead of the Rio Games, however.

“She was more calm here than she has been all year,” said Swords, Robles’ coach of 2 ½ years. “There was no anxiety. She was just ready to do what we asked her to do, and she did exactly what we asked her to do.”

Robles went six for six in her lifts, with her mother in attendance. She lifted 118, 122 and a personal-record 126 kg. in the snatch. In the clean and jerk, she lifted 151 and 155 kg., the latter of which she said led to pain in her upper back.

“I had, to me, the perfect day,” Robles said. “I’m the only person competing against myself. I’m competing against my own fears. I’m competing against my own body. And I feel like an Olympic champion. I felt awesome after I was lifting. I was just lost in my moment.”

On Instagram, Robles said she celebrated her medal with “protein drinks and a call to grandma.”