TOKYO, Japan — Harrison Maurus, who trains at Power & Grace Performance in Suwanee, experienced some Olympic heartbreak in Tokyo early Saturday, as he could not complete his final clean & jerk attempt and narrowly missed out on a bronze medal.
The 21-year-old Washington state native completed his highest attempt of 161kg on the snatch, which had him toward the back of the pack.
But in the clean & jerk he successfully lifted 195kg and then 200kg, before going for 205kg.
If he would have completed it, his total score would have leapfrogged him ahead of Italy's Antonio Pizzolato by one kilogram. Unfortunately for Maurus, he could not complete the lift and had to settle for fourth.
Maurus burst onto the scene as a young star of the sport when he won bronze in the 77kg classification at the 2017 world championships at just 17 years old. In Tokyo, the former gymnast was competing in the 81kg classification/.
China's Lu Xiaojun won gold, posting an Olympic record in both lifts, 170kg for the snatch and 204kg for the clean & jerk. Zacarias Bonnat of the Dominican Republic won silver, followed by the Italian Pizzolato.
Maurus is one of three weightlifters who train at Power & Grace Performance competing at the Olympics. He was considered a strong contender for a medal heading into the Tokyo Games.
He recovered from a back injury caused by back-squatting and spent almost eight weeks out of the gym before recovering to head to Tokyo.