American weightlifter Sarah Robles fell short of her first Olympic gold medal, instead settling for bronze in the 75+ (165 lbs.) kg division.
WATCH: U.S. weightlifter Sarah Robles earns bronze medal in 75+ kg
Robles lifted a total weight of 286 kilograms in the snatch and clean and jerk lifts, with only China’s Meng Suping and North Korea’s Kim Kuk-Hyang posting higher totals. Kim surpassed Robles’ total on her first lift in the clean and jerk portion of the competition, with the 162 kg lift pushing her to a total of 293 kg, with Kim’s final weight lifted being 306 kilograms.
WATCH: They lifted WHAT?! Converting kilograms to other objects
While Kim’s total was impressive, she was outdone by Meng whose lift of 177 kilograms on her final clean and jerk attempt won her the gold medal. Meng finished with a total weight lifted of 307 kilograms, taking by gold by a single kilogram.
Robles’ bronze medal is the first weightlifting medal for the U.S. since 2000. During those Games, Tara Nott won a gold in 48kg and Cheryl Haworth won a bronze in 75+kg, and on Sunday Robles joined those two as the only American women to win a medal in Olympic weightlifting.