Topic: News: 2008 Olympics News

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Weightlifting - Long grabs gold for China
By Sophie Hardach

BEIJING (Reuters) - Long Qingquan won a second weightlifting gold for China in the men's 56kg class on Sunday, extending the Olympic host's dominance of the sport after compatriot Chen Xiexia scored the previous day.

Cheered on by supporters waving red Chinese flags, Long, who is only 17 years old and has never competed internationally before, snatched 132kg and lifted 160kg in the clean and jerk. He won gold with a combined total of 292kg.

"To tell you the truth, I felt a little nervous, but if you don't think about it you don't feel nervous anymore," he said at a news conference. "If you know your opponents, you will win."

Vietnam's Hoang Anh Tuan won the silver, taking only the second medal in the history of the Olympics for his country. Eko Yuli Irawan from Indonesia won the bronze.

"I am very happy I lived up to the expectations of all of you," Hoang told Vietnamese journalists.

North Korea's Cha Kum-chol, who had been one of the very few Olympic medal hopefuls from the impoverished, reclusive communist state, failed to lift his targeted weight twice in the snatch and twice more in the clean and jerk. He came fifth.

China is expected to grab around one third of the 15 weightlifting gold medals on offer.

It did not compete in the women's 53kg class earlier on Sunday, where Thailand's Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon won the gold after a fast and tense competition between several close rivals.

On Saturday, the first day of full competition, weightlifter Chen Xiexia won China's first gold medal of the Olympics in the women's 48kg class amid huge cheers and thunderous applause.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Melanie Roach is Olympic Weightlifter
By Hazel

Meet Melanie Roach, a mother, a wife of a politician, business owner and an Olympic weightlifter. Read her biography and see photos and a video of her below.

Congratulations to Melanie Roach for her American record and sixth place finish at the Olympic finals of the women’s 53kg (117 lbs) division Sunday. She lifted a total of 425.5 pounds, which was a personal best as well.

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Her success has her pondering her prior decision to retire after the Olympics.

“Coming into it, I was definitely retiring,” the 33-year-old mother of three said. “Now that I’ve gotten a taste of it, I don’t know, I guess I may have to negotiate a little bit with my husband.”

Melanie Roach is not your ordinary weightlifter. She’s also not your ordinary Olympic hopeful. For one thing, she’s petite. For another, she’s the mother of three children (one with autism), the wife of a politician and a businesswoman. At 33-years-old, 5′ 1″ and 117 pounds, she can life 238 pounds over her head and that’s not the most extraordinary thing about her.

Roach was recently featured in the sports section of the New York Times in a story that featured her inner strength that bypasses her physical strength.

She will need to finish at least fourth in the 53-kilogram weight class at the Olympic trials in Atlanta on May 17th in order to qualify for Beijing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLVjca5EqVY&eurl=http://sports.rightpundits.com/?p=716

Melanie Roach Biography

Melanie Kosoff Roach started her athletic career as a gymnast. She started gymnastics when she was 12-years-old. Even though she was considered a latecomer to the sport, she excelled quickly. She attended Auburn High School in Auburn, Washington and competed in gymnastics. She dislocated her elbow in her junior year and had to have reconstructive surgery on the elbow later.

Melanie started weightlifting at the urging of a friend in 1994 with Coach John Thrush of the Calpian Weightlifting Club in Sumner, Washington. She quickly qualified for the American Open Championships and placed third in her first event. She was set to go to the 2000 Sumer Olympics in Sydney until she herniated two disks in her back just eight weeks before the trials. She had to have surgery on her back, but was back to weightlifting very soon after surgery.

Melanie met and married Dan Roach in 1998. He is a Washington State Representative. They have three children, 7-year-old Ethan, 5-year-old Drew and 3-year-old Camille. The family is Mormon and deeply involved in their church.

Their middle child, Drew, was diagnosed with autism in 2005. His diagnosis brought about changes in the family that Melanie credits with helping her find the inner strength to continue her journey to the Olympics in spite of the many obstacles she has had to overcome. Her journey to the Olympics has truly become a family process.

Melanie runs the family business, Roach Gymnastics, a gym with 500 students and 17 employees. She uses the gym there to train for the Olympics.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Long makes it look easy with title win

SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Long Qingquan took China's second weightlifting gold yesterday, winning the men's 56-kilogram category by lifting 292 kg on his international debut.

Hoang Anh Tuan of Vietnam finished second just 2 kg behind, with Indonesia's Eko Irawan grabbing the bronze.

The home crowd chanted and waved Chinese flags as Long lifted 132 kg in the snatch and 160 kg in the clean and jerk. He only failed one lift - his final clean and jerk at 164 kg when the gold was already in the bag.

Chen Xiexia won China's first gold when she dominated the women's 53kg competition on Saturday.

Long took command right from the start, cruising through the snatch event with three solid lifts. He didn't look quite as powerful in the clean and jerk, only managing a tie with Hoang, who waved his fists in joy after making 160 kg in his final attempt to grab the silver.

World champion Cha Kum-kol of North Korea only managed fifth place. He nearly bombed out in the snatch, but saved face by clearing 128 kg in his last attempt.

Earlier, Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon gave a fortune teller part of the credit for her gold. The Thai, who changed her name last year, won the women's 53kg category with a total of 221 kg and set an Olympic record in the clean and jerk. South Korea's Yoon Jin-hee finished second and Natassia Novikava of Belarus got the bronze.

The Thai lifter, who used to be known as Junpim Kuntatean, said a fortune teller told her to change her name last year to improve her luck, and it seems to have worked. "I changed the name because I wanted to win the Olympic Games," she said. "I don't know if you believe in fortune tellers but she said that if I change my name I will win gold."

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Roach sets U.S. weightlifting record, finishes sixth
By Kevin Tresolini

BEIJING — Melanie Roach glared at the barbell with contempt as she rubbed chalked on her hands. She marched to the lifting spot, stopped and pulled her belt tight. As she reached down for the bar, she clenched her teeth.

The 33-year-old from Bonney Lake, Wash., followed that same routine six times Sunday afternoon in the Summer Olympics weightlifting event.

"I always kind of stare down the bar," she said. "It's almost like it's my competition. I try to remember it's just me and the bar."

On each hoist, that clenched expression turned into a wide, white smile as the bar soared above her head — and stayed there until she decided to drop it.

"When you finish that lift, it's joy," she added.

Roach's elation endured at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Gymnasium following a sixth-place finish in the 117-pound weight class, her best in international competition.

In that regard Roach, who took up competitive weightlifting at the end of a gymnastics career, got everything she wanted out her Olympic debut. She was six years older than the other eight competitors, and came back from what had appeared to be a career-ending back injury.

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Melanie Roach competes in the women's 53 kg group at the Beijing University of Aeronautics
and Astronautics Gymnasium Sunday. By Nicolas Asfouria.

Roach successfully snatched 174.2, 178.6 and 183 pounds, the latter a personal best, then followed with clean-and-jerk lifts of 231.5, 238.1 and 242.6 pounds.

Her 425.6 total — the sum of her the heaviest lifts in each category— broke the American record of 424.5 set by Tara Nott in winning the gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Games.

"That's about all you can ask for at the Olympics," said Roach, who wasn't viewed as a medal contender. "A medal would have been icing on the cake, but I could not have asked for a better competition."

She let out a satisfied scream after releasing the bar on her final lift, an expression, she said, that was "relief, it was joy, it was excitement, it was the culmination of 14 years [as a lifter] and definitely eight years waiting to come back to the Olympics. .. Definitely, worth the wait."

The first American woman to clean and jerk twice her weight, Roach appeared poised to make the U.S. team for the 2000 Games before injuring her back. She competed in the trials anyway but failed to make the team, a bitter disappointment that reduced her to tears.

She then competed intermittently and retired several times while battling injuries and giving birth to three sons with her husband, Dan, a Washington state representative. Their second son, Drew, now 5, has autism, which demanded even more of her attention and emotion.

Her weight-lifting career was given new life in 2006 when a doctor told her about a new procedure, microdiscectomy. It cleared out bone debris imbedded in her nerves from a herniated disc without the detrimental effect on surrounding areas that other procedures might cause.

Since then, she's returned to pre-2000 form. Roach won her sixth and seventh national titles in 2006 (pre-surgery) and 2007 and also finished 12th at the world championships both years.

Making the Olympic team and competing Sunday was a crowning achievement for Roach.

"I felt great going into the competition," she said. "It was really like clockwork. Honestly, I felt kind of like a robot, like I'd done this a million times before and I just tried to enjoy every minute."

The cheers of family members, friends and coaches in the stands — including a "Go Mom!" — also provided a boost. Roach had been away from her family for more than two weeks until a brief get-together Saturday.

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been as focused as I was [Sunday] had I not had that moment with them," she said.

The competitors had three attempts each at the snatch, then clean and jerk, at individually chosen weights. Their heaviest successful lifts in both were added for the final total that determined placement.

Thailand's Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon won the gold medal with a 487.3 total that featured an Olympic record 277.8-pound clean and jerk. Yoon Jinhee of South Korea took the silver and Nastassia Novikava of Belarus earned the bronze.

The Olympic experience might have whet Roach's appetite for more.

"Coming into it I was definitely retiring," she said. "Now that I've gotten a taste of it, I don't know, I might have to negotiate a little bit with my husband."

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Weightlifter’s lucky name change helps her claim gold in the 53kg

PRAPAWADEE Jaroenrattana-tarakon thanked a fortune-teller for what she said was a lucky name change after claiming gold in the women’s 53kg weightlifting at the Beijing Olympics yesterday.

“The fortune-teller told me: ‘If you change your name you will win the gold',” said the 24-year-old Thai, who changed her name from Chanpim Kantatian last year for good luck.

“Some people believe in fortune-tellers and I am one of them, so I followed her advice.”

But after setting a new Olympic clean and jerk record of 126kg, on the way to a gold medal winning total lift of 221kg, Jaroenrattanatarakon added: “But it was not only down to luck. I trained hard for this.”

The Thai pumped her fists in delight and, as the crowd roared its encouragement, got ready to break the clean and jerk world record of 129kg held by China's world champion Li Ping with an audacious attempt to heave 130kg.

However, the effort failed and she had to console herself with the gold medal and an Olympic record.

Yoon Jinhe of North Korea won the silver with 213kg on count-back while Nastassia Novikava of Belarus settled for the bronze.

Jaroenrattanatarakon effectively won the gold medal with an initial clean and jerk attempt of 120kg, raising the bar to a level none of her eight rivals could match.

With the gold locked up, she turned her sights on the record books, breaking the eight year-old Olympic clean and jerk record, held by China's Yang Xia, with her second attempt.

With her performance, the Thais strengthened their women’s weightlifting credentials four years after winning their inaugural two Olympic gold medals at the Athens Games.

The team sent to Beijing comprised youngsters following the retirement last year of Athens trailblazers Pawina Thongsuk and Udomporn Polsak.

Jaroenrattanatarakon's effort here was a far cry from last year's world championships, where she failed in all her clean and jerk attempts.

“I had to practice very hard for it. I was lucky the Chinese did not enter a lifter in the 53kg,” she added.

The hosts, who won three women's lifting golds in Athens, had to pick their battles because each country has a quota of lifters that does not exceed four for women.

World champion Chen Xiexia won what is expected to be the first of up to four golds for the hosts in the 48kg class on Saturday.

The Thais’ two other entries, world number-two Pramsiri Bunphitak and world number three Pensiri Laosirikul both failed to win medals in that division.

Jaroenrattanatarakon said the first thing she did after winning was call her mother, who she had not seen for a long time after entering a training camp.

“I want to go home,” Jaroenrattanatarakon said.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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China to continue dominance in women's events

China is poised to dominate the women's 58kg class at the Olympic weightlifting competition on Monday.

The host's hope is rested on defending champion Chen Yanqing, who broke the women's total world record by lifting 111kg in snatch and 137kg in jerk at the 2006 Asian Games.

Chen had a stable performance at over 240kg in recent competitions while no other lifters are able to reach that mark, except for her teammate Qiu Hongmei.

However, Chen is likely to be challenged by Wandee Kameaim from Thailand and Russian Marina Shainova.

Kameaim was the bronze medalist in Athens four years ago. She finished with 236kg in the 2005 world championships.

Shainova was 2007 world championship runnerup and three-time European champion with a best personal record of 237kg.

The other event on Monday is the men's 62kg division, in which Im Yong Su from DPR Korea hopes to move a step up after winning the silver at the 2007 worlds with a total of 315kg.

Defending champion Shi Zhiyong of China has been upgraded to the 69kg class. Filling his giant shoes is Zhang Xiangxiang, 25, who finished third in the 2000 Olympics.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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DPRK weightlifter feels sorry for defeat at Olympics

PYONGYANG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cha Kum Chol, a highly-expected weightlifter to win Olympic medal for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), felt "very sorry" for his defeat in the match, said Monday a Korean newspaper.

The most important reason of losing was that he "chose wrong weight to lift" in the match, the 21-year-old DPRK athlete told Choson Sinbo, a newspaper run by ethnic Koreans in Japan.

Cha won 56 kg class gold medal at last year the World Weightlifting Championships. He aimed at a gold medal at Beijing Olympics. His coach also vowed to show "strength" of the DPRK weightlifters at the Games.

Cha finished fifth in the 56 kg class match of the Beijing Olympics, with total weight of 283 kg.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Preview: Chinese weightlifter Shi seeking second Olympic gold

BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese weightlifting star Shi Zhiyong will bid to win his second Olympic gold Tuesday in the men's 69kg division, while Russian Svetlana Tsarukaeva and Pak Hyon Suk of DPR Korea is expected to establish a fierce competition in the women's 63kg class.

Following his triumph in the men's 56kg at the Athens Games, Shi upgraded to the 69kg division in Beijing, where he will compete alongside compatriot Liao Hui.

Under the Olympic rules that limit each NOC to a maximum of four lifters each for men's and women's event, this is the only event that powerhouse China send two lifters.

The 21-year-old Liao edged out defending Olympic champion Zhang Guozheng in the domestic Olympic qualification competition after he lifted an amazing a total of 355kg.

China has dominated the division since 2004, but Armenian Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan came from nowhere to claim the title in the European Championships this year with a total of 346kg. Martirosyan and Athen's runner-up Lee Baeyoung will post a strong challenge to the Chinese duo.

In the women's 63kg, Svetlana Tsarukaeva will go out for Russia's first weightlifting gold medal. She won the silver medal of 2007 World Championship in Chiang Mai, Thailand with 250kg. With the absence of Chinese world champion Liu Haixia, Tsarukaeva is the hot title favorite as her 250kg result was well beyond the capability of other lifters.

Tsarukaeva's main rivals will include Pak Hyon Suk, bronze medalist of last year's world championship and a pair of Kazakhanstan's dark horses. Irina Nekrassova and Maya Maneza both claimed 241 entry total weights, which toped all 20 qualifiers.

"All our women lifters have the hope to go for medals," said Baturbek Ozdoev, coach of Kazakhstan women's team.

China didn't enter the women's 63kg division.