After the 2015 IWF World Championships we knew that Team USA had scored three women's spots and zero men's spots to Rio. The last chance they had to send one of their men to Rio was Senior Pan Ams in June. The team needed to place 7th or higher to secure a spot, and with Alex Lee and Norik Vardanian out due to injury the importance of the remaining members of the men's team to secure totals and place in the top seven of their respective divisions intensified. The men did what they needed to do and the male who finished highest in his division would secure a spot to Rio. With a gold in the snatch, gold in the clean-and-jerk, and gold overall, Kendrick Farris will make his third Olympic run.
Morghan King earned her spot on the Olympic Team at Olympic Trials in May. She locked in an 80kg snatch, and opened her clean-and-jerks at 95kg, which would've given her a 175kg total (locking in second place). She called for 100kg on her second attempt, made the lift, but was red-lighted due to a press-out. A 100kg lift would've put her in first place in the Olympic rankings to guarantee her a spot to Rio. With only one attempt left at 100kg, King came to the platform and performed exactly how she needed to. In the space of a dozen seconds, King accomplished her lifelong dream of becoming an Olympic athlete.
Jenny Arthur was the first member named to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. She holds every American Record in the 75kg weight class as both a junior and a senior, with two of those records (her 138kg/305lb clean & jerk and her 244kg/538lb total) set at the 2015 World Championships. Her spot on the Olympic team was awarded based on her performances at 2014 and 2015 Worlds (a 14th place finish as a W69 in 2014 and an 8th place finish in 2015 in the 75kg weight division).
Based on the Ability to Medal (ATM) statistics, Sarah Robles had all but secured the second spot on the women’s Olympic team going into Olympic Trials. She has extensive national and international experience, was a member of the 2012 US Olympic Team, and ranked by the International Weightlifting Federation as No. 10 worldwide in the 75+ category. Since returning to competition after a two-year suspension, she has dominated the national scene, set two American records, and performed well at Worlds with a 279kg total. Even though she bombed out at Olympic Trials, her ranking going in was solid enough that she was able to lock in her spot in Rio.