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Habib De Las Salas kicked off the first men's session of the 2015 Pan Am Games with a solid win. While Colombia is known for producing elite weightlifters, De Las Salas did not dissapoint. With only the smallest step backwards on this third (117kg) attempt, he secured gold on the snatch, later to take the CJ and total titles, as well. 




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The 62 kilo session was a fight between Colombian teammates, Oscar Figueroa vs. Francisco Mosquera. Mosquera was first to hit a 135 snatch, 5 kilos over Figueroa's second attempt at 130. A missed attempt at 137 for Mosquera opened the door for Figueroa to tie at 135, and he did just that. The teammates had a solid 10kg lead over third place heding into the second lift, clean and jerk. The CJs didn't go quite so smoothly. After hitting his first attempt at 170, Mosquera failed his last two lifts at 175, virtually handing the gold medal to Figueroa, who not only hit a flawless 175 on his second attempt, but forfeited his third lift due to solidifying his title with his second CJ. 




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The 69kg session was over before it even began because of the sheer fact that Luis Mosquera was competing. No competitor came close to catching Mosquera, who ran away with the win, 13 kilos above 2nd place in the total. Mosquera is known for the lightening speed he exhibits under the bar, which translated nicely to the hit 150kg snatch (more than twice his body weight). Alex Lee, the first American to compete at the Pan Am Games, had a rough showing for USA. After bombing out on his snatches, Lee pulled out from competition and did not continue in the clean and jerks. 



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This is where things got interesting. Not only did a non-Colombian finally win the session (the team swept the first three totals), but USA's Travis Cooper faced controversial judging that nearly left him with a bomb in the CJs. Cooper had a solid showing in the snatch, where he put up a 146, good enough for third. When it came to the CJs, although Cooper hit his first two attempts at 179 & even celebrated the victories after, the judges failed to agree, handing out two no-lifts. It came down to his third lift, his medal hopes resting on the final attempt. Cooper hit his third 179 lift, putting him in fourth overall, just shy of the podium. 




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Right out of the gate, Yoelmis Hernandez hit a huge 156 power snatch, followed by another flawless power at 160. His technique was as close to perfection as a lifter could possibly come, paired with enough strength to land in the power position, verses a full squat. He finished with a 164 on his third attempt, one kilo above fellow Cuban, Yadiel Nunez. Hernandez showcased skill that was obvisouly superior to his competition, which landed him 3 golds at this year's Pan Ams. 




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USA! USA! USA! Kencrick Farris and Norik Vardanian swept the most prized medals in the 94kg class, bringing more hardware and pride back to the States. The former Olympian, Kendrick Farris, had a solid start with a 163kg snatch, just 3 kilos behind Cuba's Javier Vanega Rios. It was in the CJ that Farris really ran away win the win, putting up a huge 203, solidifying his gold with a 366 total. Teammate Norik Vardanian was not far behind, taking silver in the total (362kg).

Related Article: 
2015 Pan Am Championships: Women's Results