Jourdan Delacruz has powered her way to her second Olympic appearance with USA weightlifting. She is one of three women who will represent the USA, along with two men.
“It’s of course a dream come true,” Delacruz said. “Compared to last time especially. This time I get to bring my friends and family with me. It’s a little overwhelming even thinking about it honestly. Last time it was literally just me and my coach. So, I’m really excited to have them all there.”
Delacruz’s first Olympic experience was at the Tokyo Olympics that were delayed a year to 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced athletes to go it alone without the usual support of friends and family because only essential personnel were allowed to make the trip because of protocols and lockdowns.
Delacruz, who is originally from Wylie, said she is just thankful she gets to try again for a medal in front of people she loves.
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“For Tokyo, I was literally only there for like 24 hours and then we had to go. We couldn’t do anything in the Opening or Closing ceremonies, so I am really excited about that too,” Delacruz said.
She didn’t earn a spot on the podium in Tokyo, which has given her even more push to succeed. She said the training for the Paris Olympics has been different as well because she has only had three years to prepare as opposed to the usual four in between Summer Games.
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“It’s really important that athletes get both a mental and a physical break, especially after something as stressful and stimulating as the Olympics. But it was also great for me, because it was easier to continue the training when you don’t have so long of a break in between the Olympic [years],” Delacruz said.
The three-time Pan American Championships medalist, who will compete in the snatch and clean and jerk, said she found weightlifting after getting into CrossFit with her parents. And as they say, the rest is history. While she has a strong background, she said she also knows much of weightlifting happens before she even steps on the platform.
“Weightlifting is a very mental sport. You’re trying to lift as much as you can, you have to be physically strong of course. But when it comes to competition, a ‘made lift’ is usually done in the mind first, so there’s a lot of mental training that goes into weightlifting as well. When I step up to the bar, I really try to turn my brain off and just lean into my body. I just try to trust that my body knows exactly what to do. I may have like one or two cues that I’m holding onto, but really just have to shut everything out, shut all the distractions out and trust that my body can do it,” Delacruz said.
She moved outside of Atlanta, Georgia in 2018 where she now calls home, training alongside Tokyo silver medalist Kate Vibert. The whole, “iron sharpens iron” quote definitely applies here.
It’s also not lost on her that what she is doing is inspiring another generation of female, powerlifters. Something she knows hasn’t always been popular.
“I hope that they’re inspired to get into the gym and try lifting heavy weights. I know it’s not something you normally see, especially in small women. That’s kind of really intimidating to go into a gym and wanting to get stronger and build muscle. I hope that they see my story as an inspiration and hopefully that they want to try it out too,” Delacruz said.
Delacruz won her first world championship medal in 2023 in the 49kg division and hoping to continue that momentum into the Paris Olympics.
NBC 5 is your station for the Paris Olympics starting with the Opening Ceremony on July 26.
