USA Weightlifting announced today the 2017 National Youth Championships will take place June 22-25, 2017 at the Georgia International Convention Center, located within the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia – host city of 1996 Olympic Games. 

Hosted within the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport area, athletes, coaches and participants need only take a short “SkyTrain” ride to the Georgia International Convention Center and the host hotel, the attached Marriott Atlanta Airport Gateway, priced at just $109. 

The competition which showcases the nation’s best aged 17 and under (year of birth 2000 or later), this year had a record 738 participants, and with qualifying totals frozen for the 2017 competition, a similar turnout is expected in Georgia. 

The Atlanta metro area has a long history of hosting major Weightlifting events including the 1996 Olympic Games, 2008 Olympic Trials and most recently the 2009 and 2011 National Youth Championship. Notably, 2016 Olympian Jenny Arthur is also from the Atlanta metro area. 

“The National Youth Championships is among the most excited events of the year, because it showcases the future of our sport. We look forward to working with Team Georgia and the ATL Airport District to provide a competition worthy of their talent.” USA Weightlifting CEO, Phil Andrews said. 

The ATL Airport District itself contains the Delta Airlines Flight Museum, Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour and the Porsche Experience. MARTA trains can take families from the airport to downtown Atlanta to Centennial Olympic Park, Georgia Aquarium, CNN Tour, Coca-Cola World and all the attractions of Georgia’s largest city.