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]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wesley Brian Kitts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 22, 1990 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career
editIn 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 | — | 213 | — | 390 | 8 | |||
| 2024 | Paris, France | 102 kg | 167 | 172 | — | 202 | — | 374 | 8 | |||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||
| 2017 | Anaheim, United States | 105 kg | 165 | 176 | 11 | 203 | 210 | 10 | 386 | 10 | ||
| 2018 | Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | 109 kg | 168 | 18 | 208 | 215 | 222 | 5 | 390 | 12 | ||
| 2019 | Pattaya, Thailand | 109 kg | 170 | 18 | 211 | 218 | 12 | 388 | 14 | |||
| 2022 | Bogota, Colombia | 102 kg | 165 | 170 | 11 | 202 | 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 | 172 | — | 207 | 214 | 217 | — | 389 | 
| |
| Pan American Championships | ||||||||||||
| 2016 | Cartagena, Colombia | 105 kg | 152 | 165 | 5 | 188 | 7 | 353 | 4 | |||
| 2017 | Miami, United States | 105 kg | 162 | 170 | 175 |  |
200 | 5 | 375 |
| ||
| 2018 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 105 kg | 165 | 172 | |
202 | 212 | |
384 |
| ||
| 2019 | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 109 kg | 165 | 176 | |
207 | 214 | 223 | |
399 |
| |
| 2020 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 109 kg | 155 | 160 |  |
190 | — | — | 5 | 350 | 4 | |
| 2023 | Bariloche, Argentina | 109 kg | 155 | 160 | 165 |
|
190 | 200 | — |
|
365 |
|
References
edit- ^ "Athlete Biography". IWF.net. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ "KITTS Wes". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ "Wes Kitts Team USA". Team USA. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ PDF listing of 2018 Group B world championship entrants in 109 kg
- ^ "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.
- ^ "2019 Pan American Championships Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Pan American Games Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ "PAN AMERICAN GAMES DAY 3 - AS IT HAPPENED". Olympic Channel. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ OlympicTalk (June 19, 2021). "U.S. Olympic team roster: Athletes qualified for Tokyo Games". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Oliver, Brian (April 1, 2023). "US Olympic silver medallist beaten as Pan American Weightlifting Championships conclude". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ a b "Weightlifting Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
