According to USA Weightlifting technical director Pyrros Dimas, the training camp in Leimen is an opportunity for members of the United States team to bond and acclimate.  

"The first goal is to feel like a team," he said.

"That's why we have the team together to train every day."

USA Weightlifting's relationship with the BDVG was solidified in 2017, when assistant technical director Mike Gattone and then high-performance director Lance Williams accepted an invitation to Leimen to learn more about the German training programme.

German coach Michael Vater has since attended USA Weightlifting's inaugural Coaching Symposium, which took place in Chicago in June.

Now the teams are training together for the first time.

"I think we have a big opportunity when weightlifters from all over the world come together at training camps," David Kurch, also a German coach, said.

"When we go to the USA or the USA comes to us, it's great for the weightlifting family."

Dimas says there is always room for more family members in the international weightlifting community.

"Weightlifting for me and for all is family," he added.

"International weightlifting is a big family.

"We feel that everywhere."

The US team will soon be travelling here from Germany.

The 2018 IWF World Championships are due to be held at the Ashgabat Olympic Complex's Martial Arts Arena from November 1 to 10.

The US played host to the two most recent editions of the event, in 2015 in Houston and in 2017 in Anaheim.

Last year, Sarah Robles won the country’s sole overall gold medal with victory in the women’s over-90 kilograms category.

There were also bronzes for Harrison Maurus in the men’s 77kg and Mattie Rogers in the women’s 69kg.

The US failed to secure a single medal two years earlier in Houston.