Last weekend, Evan Pittman broke records and earned gold medals for the eighth time at the national 2017 AAU Junior Olympic Games in Michigan.  This year’s Junior Olympic Games, held in the Detroit suburb of Novi, was Pittman’s eighth as a competitor and ninth overall(one serving as an official).

In setting three world records at the August 3rd powerlifting meet, Pittman became the only lifter in history to break world records in nine different weight classes.

A week after earning All-American status on both 1-meter and 3-meter boards at AAU Springboard Diving Nationals in North Carolina, Pittman arrived at the Junior Olympic Games to compete in two events — powerlifting and the combine.  He easily won his class in powerlifting, then two days later captured the 18-19 age group in the Allsports National Combine meet, and remains unbeaten in more than 20 AAU national and international Strength Sports meets in eight years of competition.

On Thursday, August 3, Pittman dominated the men’s Junior Olympic Games powerlifting meet.  Lifting raw at 159 lbs., he registered the heaviest raw squat (424 lbs.), and the heaviest 3-lift total (1176 lbs.).  He also easily bench pressed 248 lbs., and deadlifted 510 lbs. — good enough for three AAU world powerlifting records. Pittman has now broken world records in the 77, 88, 97, 105, 114, 123, 132, 148 and 165 lb. classes, beginning at his first powerlifting meet at age 10.

Pittman then served as an official for Friday’s Olympic weightlifting competition.  He returned to competitor’s status on Saturday, competing in his fourth JO Games Allsports combine — a five-event competition that tests speed, explosive power, and strength-endurance.

Having won the first three Junior Olympics national combines he competed in during the 2013, 2014 and 2015 JO Games, Pittman did not compete in powerlifting or the combine in 2016 because of a dislocated finger.  He wanted to reclaim his combine title in his final JO Games event, and rose to the top of the 18-19 year-old men’s class by winning the bench press for repetitions, scoring the longest standing broad jump of the competition at 9 feet, 1/2 inches, and running the fastest 40-yard sprint in his age group at 4.82 seconds.

Pittman’s Jets Barbell team also won the overall powerlifting team championship, and finished third in the Allsports National Combine team competition.

“I enjoyed attending this last JO Games with my dad coaching me,” Evan said afterwards.  “This has been our annual trip for eight years, and my memories from our first JO Games are still vivid in my mind, but this year was perhaps the sweetest, because it is my last before heading to college. I also wanted to win the combine again, because athletes from all sports compete at the combine, and it is a true test of speed, power and athleticism.”

In national competition at eight AAU Junior Olympic Games, Pittman is a 52-time medalist, with 47 of them being gold – in five sports – Taekwondo, powerlifting, springboard diving, the Allsports Combine and Feats of Strength.  He will attend Brown University this fall and will compete with the men’s swimming and diving team.

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