Jake L Clean and Jerks 310lbs
Jake’s Write Up On His Meet:
An Olympic meet is a VERY LONG day, most of it comprised of anxiously waiting and watching, second guessing yourself and asking WHY IN THE HELL you are doing this??!!! My weigh in was at 1pm so I showed up at around 1230. I was a bit worried all week that I wasnt going to make weight as I was consistently weighing around 211-12 (my weight class is up to 206.8). I had a very light breakfast, eggs and some bacon, and ZERO carbs or water until the weigh in. I made weight easily at 205.
After the weigh in you sort of sit around and wonder when in the hell you are supposed to start warming up. The lifting session before you is still going, you arent sure when it will end and how much time you have before your first lift. Luckily, and this turned out to be crucial, the head olympic coach from Lost Battalion Hall, Artie Dreschler, took me under his wing (thanks to my olympic lifting coach Frankie Murray who was a fellow “competitor” in the 94kg class. He’s a member of the national team and is a truly phenomenal lifter.) Anyway, Artie timed ALL of my warmup lifts to the minute, told me when to take them and when to just sit and chill. This proved INVALUABLE. The timing for my warm up was perfect and i was ready to go when I needed to be.
All week i was constantly worried about my opening Snatch (220). Its my first meet and all I can think about is NEEDING to hit that opener, get on the board and get in the game. During the warm up i was shocked at how light all the weights felt. I took my opener once, about 5 minutes before I went out, and it felt like a joke. I basically power snatched it. I wanted to keep the first lift somewhat conservative so I MADE SURE I hit it and got on the board.
My name was called, “Jacob Leivent, opening with 100kg”. I wasnt nervous, just really JACKED up on adrenaline, and ready to get that first lift in. Stepped up to the bar, waited for the 30 seconds to pass on the clock (There is a funny buzz that goes off at 30 secs), and just went. I trusted all the training I had done, set my back tighter than I ever had, pulled like fuck, and before i knew it it was over head, half power snatched, and done. YES! First lift is good, ready to rock. Second snatch I had no doubt i was going to hit it, I was feeling fast and powerful. 231, boom, done, on to the next. I decided to go for 246, not a PR, but I didnt open with a heavy enough weight to go for 256 or something like that. I hit the 246 reallly easily, adrenaline…its a hell of a drug!
On to the Clean and jerk. I planned on opening with a very conservative 275#. I wasnt too worried about making large jumps with the C&J. I hit the 275 like it was nothing, the jerk felt so light. Next lift…297, ADRENALINE, easy lift. I decided to go for a PR and hit 310. There was never a doubt in my mind that this thing wasnt going to go. I have never felt so confident and strong. It is unbelievable what the atmosphere of a competition can do. HIT IT, 310 felt like 225.
I wound up taking 2nd place in the 94kg (with a 253kg total) and going 6 for 6. Frankie wound up winning by probably close to 100 lbs! All in all this was one of the better experiences in athletics I have had since I played college tennis. Training is fun, it feels good, but there is nothing like the feeling of putting it all on the line, stepping up, and executing when you need to. Seriously, everyone should compete in something!
To see Jake’s 246lb Snatch, check out our Flickr Page
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Brandon R also lifted at this meet and hit 65 kilos on his snatch and 98 kilos in the clean and jerk taking 2nd place in his weight class. Great work, guys!!!
