Jeffrey Michael Wittmer (born September 30, 1984) in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

is a

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

for the

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. Getting his start in his basement gym Jeff won his first 50 competitions. Jeff is featured on the cover of the book ''Explosive Lifting for Sports'' by Harvey Newton. He holds multiple national titles and records. Jeff graduated from

Hazelwood West High School Hazelwood West High School is a public high school in the Hazelwood School District located in North St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. History Hazelwood West High School began in 1974, with the first graduating class in 1975. Due to ov ...

in 2003. After graduation, he accepted an invitation to the

Olympic Training Center The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers (OPTCs) are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Spri ...

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. At the 2006 World Championships he ranked 26th in the 94 kg category, with a total of 338 kg. His most notable performances include 5th place at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

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. He won a silver, and two bronze medals at the 2008 Pan American Championships in

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

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, in the 94 kg category, with a total of 347 kg. He is known for his extreme flexibility and gutsy performances. Jeff was a favorite to make the 2-man Olympic team for the 2008 Beijing games, but fell just short at the Olympic Trials in

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittmer, Jeffrey 1984 births Living people American male weightlifters Sportspeople from St. Louis Weightlifters at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for the United States 20th-century American people 21st-century American people