But all three were blown away by a phenomenal display of talent from Colombia, who won all three events on the third day of competition and have taken six out of nine titles to date.

Mercedes Perez won her seventh straight Pan American title when she took the women's 63kg crown and said she would be back next year, when she will be 30, for an eighth.

Leidy Solis totalled 241kg to see off the challenge of Rogers, who has nearly half a million followers on social media, in the women's 69kg.

Solis took a sweep of golds and Rogers, 21, won all three silvers in snatch, clean and jerk and total.

The performance of the day came from Yeison Lopez, the 18-year-old who has won all nine international competitions in which he has taken part.

He broke his own junior and senior Pan American snatch records in taking the men's 77kg title with a total of 352kg.

Angelo Bianco had a career-best 333kg to take silver on total and clean and jerk for the United States, with another Colombian, Brayan Rodallegas, third.

In fifth place was another American, Harrison Maurus, the 17-year-old former gymnast who was making his first senior appearance after winning the Youth World Championship in April.

Maurus, who moved across from gymnastics along with his coach Kevin Simons five years ago, won a clean and jerk bronze.

Rogers was a cheerleader and a gymnast before switching to weightlifting, while Mary Peck, fifth in the women's 63kg, also gave up gymnastics.

"I found gymnastics training monotonous, four hours a day, five days a week, but I love training for weightlifting and never miss a day," said Maurus.

Rogers agreed and said: "There's a lot more to train for in gymnastics and the sessions are way longer - but it gives you body awareness and core strength, which are important in weightlifting."

"Gymnasts make fantastic weightlifters," said Phil Andrews, chief executive of USA Weightlifting who sent talent ID scouts to all the US regional gymnastics competitions this year.

"They have the three main qualities you need for weightlifting - flexibility, strength and the ability to train relentlessly."

Colombia had a 1-2 in the 63kg, with Rosiva Silgado second to Perez, and Canada's Maude Charron third.

It was the same finishing order in the snatch, while the clean and jerk 1-2-3 was Silgado, Perez and Ana Duran, of Mexico.

Venezuela's Junior Sanchez won a snatch bronze in the men's 77kg.

Of the women's 69kg bronzes, the snatch went to Angie Palacios of Ecuador and the other two to Anacarmen Torres of Mexico.

Colombia will have another good chance of gold on day four in the men's 85kg, in which Jhor Moreno is one of the favourites.