Caitlin Hogan started on the ice aged four, when she lived in Minnesota, and reached elite level in US women’s hockey at college, becoming all-time top scorer for St Cloud State University.

She trained with weights, self-taught, throughout her hockey years, but starting taking the sport more seriously in February 2015 after going to Sean Waxman's gym in Los Angeles.

Waxman started coaching her and Hogan’s progress has been remarkable, culminating at the Miccosukee Resort in Miami with a performance in the women's 53 kilograms that would have been good enough for fifth in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games – the very place occupied by the winner here, the Brazilian Rosane Dos Reis.

Hogan lifted a career-best 193kg, her efforts earning a snatch bronze and silvers in clean and jerk and overall, just 1kg behind Dos Reis.

Reflecting on her progress, Hogan, who now owns a gym in Long Beach, California, said she is delighted with the choices she made and is now looking towards future challenges in weightlifting.

“Sean said "no more hockey" and I started training full-time in June 2015 and it’s been pretty amazing.

"Now I’m already thinking about the World Championships at the end of the year.

“The Olympics? That would be great but let’s go one step at a time – the World Championships are next."

Dos Reis finished 2kg ahead of her Brazilian team-mate Leticia Lindo, and Hogan, in the snatch.

Colombia's Rusmeris Barboza, fourth at London 2012, was only sixth in the snatch, but won the clean and jerk with her final attempt at 108kg, ahead of Hogan. 

Beatriz Piron of Dominican Republic took third place in clean and jerk and total.

Ecuador won their first gold when Maria Escobar took the women's 58kg, ahead of Colombia’s Maria Lobon and Monica Dominguez, of Mexico.

If Yusleidy Figueroa of Venezuela had not failed with her final attempt at 120kg, she would have won, but she had to settle for fourth place overall, with the consolation of a clean and jerk bronze behind Lobon and Escobar.

In the snatch, Escobar beat Dominguez and Lobon, while American hope Jessica Lucero made only two of her six lifts and finished fifth in snatch, clean and jerk and total.

The Colombian national anthem was heard for a third time in six events when Luis Mosquera, who did not start until all his 14 rivals in the men's 69kg had finished in the snatch, won the overall contest easily.

The 20-year-old, promoted to bronze medal position in Rio after a doping disqualification, failed with two Pan American record attempts, but finished with a total of 325kg, well clear of the gutsy Venezuelan Julio Mayora and Mexico’s Jonathan Munoz, who won a sweep of silver and bronze medals respectively.

CJ Cummings, the outstanding US youngster who missed these Championships after a busy recent schedule, was watching at home and will relish the opportunity to compete against Mosquera and China’s Liao Hui in the International Weightlifting Federation World Championships in Anaheim, California, in November.

In the men’s 62kg Mexico’s Antonio Vasquez, fourth in the snatch, waited until everybody else had finished in the clean and jerk before making his first attempt at 161kg to win on total.

Silver went to Colombia’s Luis Higuita and bronze to the Venezuelan Roy Lopez.

The snatch medals went to Ecuador's Cristhian Zurita, gold, Dariel Villareal of Cuba, silver, and Higuita, while 

In the clean and jerk, Vasquez won gold ahead of Higuita and Lopez.