Rory van Ulft is already a familiar name in the weightlifting community despite being just 11-years-old. She has years of experience in the sport and countless impressive lifts. Well, Rory is showing no signs of slowing down, as seen by her recent appearance at the 2024 Ontario Junior & Youth Championships. The competition took place on December 7th, and Rory competed in the 40-kilogram weight class. She had an exceptional performance, which she crowned with a 78-kilogram (172-pound) Clean & Jerk Unofficial IWF Youth World Record.
Rory van Ulft’s Full Performance
Snatch
Rory van Ulft opened up her session with a 52-kilogram (114.6-pound) Snatch. Having lifted more in the past, she was confident in completing the lift and ultimately made it look very easy. She then decided to increase her next attempt by an increment of 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds), progressing toward her goal but not making unnecessary jumps. Rory’s lift was once again successful, allowing her to go even heavier for the one attempt that was remaining.
Rory van Ulft decided to load an additional 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) on the barbell, pushing it to 56 kilograms (123.5 pounds) in total. Coming out to nearly 1.5x her bodyweight, Rory was up for an immense challenge. However, she remained composed and managed to snatch the bar above her head and stand upright to officially confirm the success of her lift.
- 52 kilograms (114.6 pounds)
- 54 kilograms (119 pounds)
- 56 kilograms (123.5 pounds)
Clean & Jerk
While Rory van Ulft is certainly impressive in the Snatch, her prowess in the Clean & Jerk is even more mind-blowing. However, things didn’t seem to start off right on this occasion since Rory was unsuccessful on her opener of 72 kilograms (158.7 pounds). It was purely due to a technical mishap that Rory fixed on her remaining two attempts.
Knowing that her first attempt was not a reflection of her strength, Rory van Ulft decided to go up to 75 kilograms (165.3 pounds) for her second attempt. This was still below her one-rep max, but it gave Rory something to fall back on, especially considering how big of a risk she would take on the final attempt.
With just one attempt left, Rory van Ulft decided to try and exceed the U40KG IWF Youth World Record. So, she loaded 78 kilograms (172 pounds) on the barbell. The Clean portion of the lift looked impressive, as Rory caught the bar on her shoulders and squatted up to prepare for the next part. The Jerk was arguably even more impressive, as Rory locked out the lift with ease but just needed a second to stabilize herself. Consequently, she ended up with an unofficial world record.
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- Unsuccessful — 72 kilograms (158.7 pounds)
- 75 kilograms (165.3 pounds)
- 78 kilograms (172 pounds) — U40KG Unofficial IWF Youth World Record
*Preetismita Bhoi holds the current U40KG IWF Clean & Jerk Youth World Record, having lifted 76-kg (167.6-lb) at the 2024 Youth Weightlifting World Championships. Bhoi was 15-years-old at the time of the lift.
Total — 134 kilograms (295.4 pounds)
Watch Rory’s incredible Clean & Jerk here:
The Youth age class in the IWF is set for athletes between 13 and 17 years old, showing that Rory van Ulft is still much younger than the athletes whose records she is unofficially breaking. Moreover, it proves that she still has time to improve and get ready for her debut at an IWF-sanctioned event.
Rory van Ulft is also passionate about gymnastics, meaning that she is an athlete with an array of exceptional skills. She has also set her goals accordingly, hoping to make it to the Olympics at some point in her career. Judging from what she has achieved so far, Rory’s goal does not seem far-fetched at all.
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