Kendrick Farris is America’s star lifter. He’s won four Senior National Championships, placed 8th in the 2008 Olympic games, placed 12th in the Senior World Championships, and won a gold medal at the Senior Pan American Championships. He holds the American record in the clean and jerk (203kg) and the American record in the total (362kg) — all in the 85kg weight class. But…is that enough to take on the world?

There are two lifters in particular with existing international track records that currently stand in Kendrick’s way; Andrei Rybakou and Lu Yong (surnames come first in most Asian cultures…according to Brent). Rybakou has been called a “specialist” in the snatch as he has snatched an amazing world record 187kg (remember, he is an 85kg lifter). He also is tied in the world record with Lu Yong in the total with 394kg. Rybakou has won the 2006 European Championships, the 2006-07 World Championships, and won a silver medal at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Here is the video of Rybakou breaking his own World Record in the snatch with a 187kg lift (go to 4:10 in the vid):



Lu Yong has a similarly impressive list of accomplishments. He won a silver medal at the Asian Games, a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships, a gold medal at the 2009 World Championships, and most important of all…a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. He won it in a battle against Rybakou, who was a pubic hair away from winning gold. Lu Yong had to hit a lift to tie his total (he was at a lighter bodyweight and would win the tie), and he did so on his second clean and jerk. However, the jury reversed the decision because of a pressout, and he came back on the third attempt to hit the lift for the gold — quite impressive. Here’s the video — the whole thing is very good, but if you just want to see the final lift, go to 4:10 for Lu Yong’s second attempt, and then 7:50 for the third:



Lu Yong matched Rybakou’s total, but since Rybakou made the total first, he maintains the world record until someone else beats it.

As you see, these 85kg lifters are very good. I don’t know if they have room to improve on their current total — Rybakou needs to improve his jerk to become an Olympic champion, and Lu Yong needs to stay one step ahead. Kendrick Farris has snatched 160kg (at the 2008 Olympics) and clean and jerked 203kg (at this year’s Pan-Ams). Kendrick is a very good with the clean and jerk as he has hit 211 in training, and has cleaned and just misses the jerk forward at 218.



There have been whispers of Kendrick setting a World Record in the clean and jerk (which is 218kg in the 85kg class), but even if he were to do so, he’ll need to improve his snatch significantly before the Olympic games in London. Going 170/220 would still only yield a 390 total. I hope he does, and I’m rooting for him more than ever. He’s got quite the task ahead of him, so let’s stay behind him (well, at least us Americans) as he prepares for 2012.

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