How Team U.S.A. weightlifter Olivia Reeves became a gold-medal favorite

Expectations are high that a member of the U.S. women's weightlifting team could win gold this year – and Olivia Reeves is at the center of them. Paris will be Reeves' first Olympic games, but not her first time competing on the world stage. She took first place in her weight class at the IWF World Cup Paris qualifier in Thailand earlier this year. And she's already breaking U.S. weightlifting records.

Some background – Olympic weightlifters compete in two events:

• The clean and jerk, where a lifter hoists – or cleans – the bar to the top of their chest, then presses it overhead.
• The snatch, where a lifter grabs the bar with a wide grip and lifts it overhead in one continuous motion.

Each athlete gets three attempts at both lifts. Their heaviest snatch and heaviest clean and jerk combined make up their total – and the lifter with the highest total wins.

Reeves will compete in the 71 kg weight class. In her final qualifier, she lifted a 118kg snatch and a 150kg clean and jerk for a 268kg total. That's about 590 pounds.

Consider This host Juana Summers visited the gym earlier this summer to meet the weightlifter and her longtime coach, Steve Fauer, as they prepared to head to Paris. As she set up for a 111kg snatch, she told Summers:

"Eleven more kilos than this would be a world record...and that is my goal at the Olympics."

From CrossFit gym to the Olympic Stage

Far from the pomp and circumstance of the Paris games, Reeves trained for her Olympic debut in a gym in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It's tucked away in an industrial park, and fairly nondescript – except for the big white banner with Olivia's name and the Olympic rings hanging over the door.

Olivia is 21 years old and finishing up her undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga; she's also expecting to graduate later this year.

Growing up, her parents owned a Crossfit gym. Olivia's mom, Amber, worked there full time, and she said that Olivia wasn't a big fan of cardio, recalling one memorable workout:

"There was running involved. And she came back from running and there were tears. She did not want to do it any more. And her passion just became about, you know, lifting weights because she really enjoyed that part of exercise."

At 13, Olivia's focus shifted to weightlifting, and her parents began to see she had real promise as an athlete.

"She started winning national competitions for her age group and weight class," Jason Reeves, her father, said.

Amber chimed in. "Then, having a discussion with Olivia of, like, where do you see this going, you know? I mean, is this something we need to take seriously and invest some real energy, effort and time into this? Or are we just kind of having fun? And either path is totally OK."

Hailed as a generational talent

Weightlifting has been part of the Olympics since the first modern games were held in 1896. But women didn't start competing at the Olympic level until 24 years ago – in 2000.

That year, Tara Nott Cunningham brought home a gold medal in weightlifting, and she's the first and only American woman to do that. Reeves could be next.

"It just comes down to having her prepared," coach Steve Fauer told NPR. "I don't see why we're not going to win the gold medal. We're knocking on the door of world records. I mean, why not?"

Though she's early in her career, Reeves is already being lauded as one of the generation's greatest weightlifters.

"It's incredibly exciting because she is having all this success and she's having it at such a young age," said Cara Heads Slaughter, who was a member of the women's weightlifting team in 2000. "She's on track to be the best U.S. weightlifter in women's history."

For her part, Reeves is focused on her goals and staying consistent.

"I try to practice keeping it parallel across the board. The way I walk up to the bar, the way I approach the bar, the way they put chalk on my hands – everything is the same."

But she told Consider This host Juana Summers recently that, while she's tried to keep her training routine consistent, she's had to make new routines in Paris as she prepares to step onto the platform at the Olympics for the first time on Friday, August 9.