Olympic Champion Olivia Reeves Trains for LA 2028 Comeback

Olivia Reeves made history in Paris when she became the first American to win Olympic weightlifting gold since 2000, but the 23-year-old champion isn't dwelling on that perfect day. She's too busy navigating her first major setback and discovering what really matters.

The Chattanooga native has spent the past three months away from the gym, sidelined by a stress fracture in her lower spine. For someone who's been athletic her entire life, the forced break has been jarring.

"Never in my life have I spent this amount of time away from a gym or working out or being athletic," Reeves said during a recent USA Weightlifting Foundation fundraising event in New York. "Not having that outlet or that space to go regularly has been a little bit of an identity crisis."

But Reeves has turned her recovery time into an opportunity. She bought a 106-year-old house in June that she's been renovating with her sister Haley. She's pursuing a master's degree in public health at UT-Chattanooga, focusing on chronic disease prevention. She even fosters dogs between training sessions.

The break from competition has also given her time to reflect on what made Paris special and what she hopes will be different in Los Angeles. Interestingly, she doesn't remember her total weight lifted in Paris (262kg). What she does remember is feeling like she could do better.

"It was good, but not my best," Reeves admitted. "It's not even my favorite performance. It's just the one everybody knows about."

That perspective is actually giving her confidence as she looks toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. She's moved up a weight class and adjusted her expectations in a healthy way.

"I don't have to have my best day to win a gold medal," she said. "I just have to have a good enough day."

Why This Inspires

Reeves is redefining what success looks like for elite athletes. In a world obsessed with breaking records and delivering peak performance, she's found freedom in a different goal: experience.

"It's hard to fail when your goal is experience," she explained. "Being able to recognize that this in and of itself is an experience, and you can take that as an opportunity and a challenge, and not so much like success/failure."

She's set to return to lifting next week and plans to compete again in December as Olympic qualifying begins. No American weightlifter has won gold at a home Games since 1904, but Reeves isn't letting that pressure define her journey.

Her coach since she transitioned from CrossFit a decade ago, Steve Fauer, watched her look more nervous before her first Paris lift than at any competition in her life. She still delivered five out of six successful lifts and set an Olympic record in her weight class.

Now she's learned that the waiting, the setbacks, and the imperfect performances are all part of a bigger story worth telling.