If you missed it, check out the “What You Need to Know” article about the upcoming USAW American Open. You can also check out the Women’s 48kg preview here.
The 56kg Men will take the platform during the first session of the American Open. At 5:30pm EST on Thursday, December 8, the 56kg and 62kg men will share the platform to award the first medals of the weekend. Last year, Darren Barnes obliterated the field winning by 26kg, but Barnes is not competing this year.
Last year’s medalists were:
| Place | Snatch | Clean & Jerk | Total |
| 1 | Darren Barnes (105) | Darren Barnes (125) | Darren Barnes (230) |
| 2 | Brian Reisenauer (94) | Jerrone Wynn (115) | Brian Reisenauer (204) |
| 3 | Michael Berhane (87) | Brian Reisenauer (110) | Jerrone Wynn (201) |
Here’s who to look out for this year…
Michael Fox
At the 2015 USAW National Championships, Fox battled Darren Barnes, coming up 3kg shy. With a 239kg entry, Fox is heavily favored to take gold. Fox has been training under Max Aita and is on Team Juggernaut.
Brian Reisenauer
If Fox hits his lifts as expected, the battle may be for the silver. Reisenauer took 2nd in 2015 and will once again be in contention this year. Reisenauer failed to post a total at the 2016 USAW National Championship after three missed snatch attempts. He came back with a successful 123kg clean and jerk, good for 2nd only to Barnes.
Andrew Cheung
Andrew Cheung competed in the 62kg weight class last year, but has moved down in 2016. Cheung took 3rd place at the 2016 National Championships in a tight match up between Brey Kobashigawa and Joseph Garcia. Look for Reisenauer, Cheung and Garcia to again battle for the silver.
