Topic: News: 2008 Olympics News

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Women's 69kg

Oxana Slivenko of Russia, the world record holder of the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk, is the favorite. She has been dominating this class for the past four years, winning gold in the 2006 and 2007 World Championships. Her entry total weight is 250kg -- 16kg lower than her world record.

However, China's chances of gold are also high. Their representative is the current Olympic record holder in the Snatch, the Clean and Jerk and in total weight, defending Olympic champion Liu Chunhong. The 23-year-old has been Slivenko's rival for years, winning the 2005 World Championship and the 2008 Asian Championship. Her total weight Olympic record is 275kg, just one kilogram lower than Slivenko's world record. Her entry total weight is 265kg.

2007 World Championship bronze medalist Natalya Davydova and Athens silver medalist Hanna Batsiushka also have a shot at the gold medal. Twenty-three-year-old Davydova enjoyed fine form in 2007, grabbing a silver medal in European Championship. Twenty-six-year old Batsiushka is the world record holder of the Clean and Jerk.

The final will tip off is at 3:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8)

Men's 77kg

Defending champion Taner Sağır of Turkey is the most likely winner of this weight class. He is also the world record holder of the Snatch and total weight. In the 2006 World Championship he won the gold medal with a total weight of 361kg, nine kilograms lower than his entry total for this summer.

Sağır's long time rival, Li Hongli of China, will try to stop him again, especially in front of home supporters. Li triumphed in the 2005 World Championship. He finished behind Sağır in the 2006 World Championship by just two kilograms. He was also the bronze medalist in the 2007 World Championship. Li has the same entry total as Sağır.

Another big name in the final is the Clean and Jerk world record holder Oleg Perepetchenov of Russia. The 32-year-old veteran has been on good form, winning the 2008 European Championship with a total weight of 362kg. He placed third in the 2004 Athens Olympics, 10 kilograms behind Sağır. His entry total is 367kg.

Other medal candidates include 2006 World Championship bronze medalist Ara Khachatryan and his fellow countryman, 2007 World Championship silver medalist Gevorg Davtyan.

The final will start at 7:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), following a group B round at 10:00a.m. which will include most of the weaker lifters.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Olympic weightlifting champion Liao Hui: fewer worries, more gains

By Wu Chen

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Talking about competing side-by-side with Shi Zhiyong in men's 69kg category at the Beijing Games, Liao Hui said he had no advantage over his teammate, and just worried less than Shi did.

"I will play my part to secure him (to get the gold)," Liao said before the Games, adding that as a rookie, he would just take the opportunity to make himself more experienced.

But the worry-free 20-year-old successfully overcame pressure, lived up to home fans' expectation and won the Olympic title.

Born in Xiantao City, a renowned "home of gymnasts," of central China's Hubei Province, Liao dreamed to be a gymnast when he was seven years old, but was shut out of the sport by the local coaches.

The boy changed his mind when weightlifting coach Gan Yongkui set an eye on him the next year. This time, he was stopped by his parents, who worried that their son might grow up a "dwarf" as a weightlifter. The coach didn't give up. Three years later, he visited Liao's family again and said the boy would have a promising future.

"I promised them that Liao would be picked up by the provincial team within three years, and enter the national team in another three years," Gan said, adding that Liao is a talented lifter, which was also the People's Liberation Army (PLA) weightlifting team coach Yu Jie's first impression on Liao.

"He has good physical conditions, and he is smart, knowing how to adjust himself in the competition," Yu said.

They are right. The boy made progress rapidly in the three consecutive junior national championships he took part in from 2004:

2004, only 12th place;

2005, a gold;

and 2006, a gold again.

He was inducted into the national team after finishing 4th place in the national championships last May. Also in 2007, Liao won five golds at home and abroad.

In 2008, he edged out veteran Zhang Guozheng, Athens gold medalist and world champion, who had dominated the class for nearly five years, to get qualified for the Beijing Olympics.

It has only taken nine years since he chose, or rather to say was chosen by the career of weightlifting.

He said he had benefited a lot from the days taking training sessions together with Zhang Guozheng.

"Strong opponent makes me stronger," he said.

He was sent to the ongoing Games with Shi Zhiyong, who upgraded to this category after claiming a title in the 58kg class at the Athens Games, to form a "double insurance" for the gold.

However, Tuesday's game turned out to be much tougher than everyone had imagined, as both of them failed the first attempt in snatch and Shi had to quit the clean and jerk competition due to a waist injury.

Then Liao made his first jerk attempt, and failed. South Korean Lee Baeyoung, who was injured in his first jerk attempt, and French lifter Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan were waiting to challenge a heavier weight.

But Liao succeeded in the second try for 185kg.

"I knew I didn't adjust myself well, so I did that before the second attempt," Liao said, adding that it's actually not a big deal for him as he could jerk 200kg during the training sessions.

He finished with 190kg, totaling 348kg, beating French Vencelas Dabaya-Tientcheu by 10kg, as the latter failed in his two attempts for a world record-equaling 197kg.

It's the fifth gold claimed by Chinese lifters in Beijing.

The newly-crowned said he wants to go back to his hometown and share the joy with his parents.

To his parents' delight, their son has grown to 168cm, not a dwarf at all.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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China equals best results in Olympic weightlifting
By Xu Zheng

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Liao Hui won the men's 69kg title in the weightlifting here on Tuesday and gave the host China the fifth gold medal in the event at the Beijing Olympics.

The gold helped China equal the number of weightlifting Olympic golds it won in Athens four years ago, and there are still six days of competition to go.

China won five gold medals in Athens, which was the best result for the world weightlifting powerhouse.

In women's 63kg, DPR Korean lifter Pak Hyon Suk scored a narrow win, bringing the first gold to her country at the Games.

Liao Hui won the mens' 69kg division at 348kg, beating French Vencelas Dabaya-Tientcheu by 10kgs who took the silver medal thanks to lighter body weight. Tigran Martirosyan of Armenia came third.

The 20-year-old Liao, taking part in his second international events, struggled in the snatch. He claimed 153kg first but only cleared it in the second attempt. As Lee Baeyoung made the lift of 155kg in his third attempt, Liao had to overcome 158kg and made it with a loud shout.

Then he jerked 185kg on his second attempt to maintain the lead, but Dabaya-Tientcheu responded with 187kg in his first lift. After Liao finished 190kg in his final attempt, Dabaya-Tientcheu had to lift more than 197kg, which is a world record weight.

Vencelas failed twice at 197kg, giving Liao his first Olympic gold.

Shi Zhiyong, who won the title of men's 62kg in Athens and changed to 69kg division after that, lifted 152kg in the snatch and quit the competition before the clean and jerk battle.

"Shi hurt his waist before the clean and jerk event and have to quit the competition," said Chen Wenbin, head coach of China's men's team.

Before Liao, China had swept all the four gold medals in the events that the Chinese weightlifter took part.

Early on Tuesday, Pak Hyon Suk totaled 241kg to beat Kazakhstan's rookie lifter Irina Nekrassova, who lifted 240kg in total, in the women's 63kg class. The bronze went to Lu Ying-Chi of Chinese Taipei, who cleared a total of 231kg.

Russian medal hopeful Svetlana Tsarukaeva, runner-up of the 2007 world championships, dropped off competition due to three failed attempts in snatch, the event turned out to be an one-to-one fight between Pak, bronze medalist of 2007 world championships, and 20-year-old Nekrassova.

Nekrassova lifted 110kg in snatch and Pak snatched 106kg.

Pak tried to catch up with Nekrassova in clean and jerk by trying 135kg in her first two attempts, but failed. Nekrassova succeeded the first attempt of 130kg, but failed in the last two for 135kg.

The 23-year-old Pak, in her do-or-die last try, seized the chance and made it, grabbing the gold from Nekrassova, who could not help crying.

"Although the athletes before me didn't perform well, I did my best," said Pak, noting that the gold is the biggest present for the 60-year anniversary of the founding of DPR Korea.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Pak Hyon Suk wins North Korea's first weightlifting gold medal
By Karl Ritte

BEIJING - Pak Hyon Suk won North Korea's first gold medal in Beijing on Tuesday, taking the women's 63-kilogram weightlifting division on the last lift of the competition that equalled the Olympic record.

It was North Korea's first women's weightlifting gold since Olympic competition began for women in 2000.

Pak risked being eliminated after dropping two clean and jerks at 135 kg, but nailed her final attempt to clinch the gold.

Barely cracking a smile, the 23-year-old Pak seemed more relieved than happy after winning North Korea's first gold in a sport where her countrymen had not lived up to expectations in other categories.

"I am overjoyed by the fact that I have brought joy to our dear general," a stone-faced Pak said through a translator, referring to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il.

Pak had lifted 106 kg in the snatch and finished with a total of 241 kg, just one kilogram ahead of silver medallist Irina Nekrassova of Kazakhstan.

Lu Ying-chi of Taiwan took the bronze with 231 kg.

Christine Girard of Rouyn-Noranda, Que., finished fourth with total lifts of 228 kg.

World champion and world record-holder Liu Haixia of China was not competing because the Olympic host chose to prioritize other weight categories. Teams can compete with a maximum of four women in Olympic weightlifting.

Svetlana Tsarukaeva of Russia was the favourite to win the event, but crashed out with three failed attempts to lift 107 kg in the snatch. Visibly shaken, she accidentally bumped her head into the wall as she left the platform in tears.

That left Nekrassova in the lead after clearing 110 kg in the snatch and Pak under pressure to catch up in the clean and jerk.

The North Korean boldly started the clean and jerk at the Olympic-record level of 135 kg, but the gamble almost resulted in her elimination.

She failed her first two attempts, struggling to lock her arms with the bar overhead. Weightlifters need to have at least one good attempt in both the snatch and the clean and jerk to get a total score.

Pak coped with the pressure in her final attempt, wobbling slightly but firming up to lock her arms as the judges approved the lift.

"I failed the first and second attempt. However, when I was about to do my third attempt, I kept in my head the thought that my dear general's eyes will be upon me," Pak said. "And that thought by itself was great encouragement, and that's how I managed to lift the last weight."

Nekrassova was stunned by Pak's final lift and was still wiping away tears 20 minutes after the competition. Asked if she had expected to win the gold, she said: "Absolutely."

Pak's triumph broke North Korea's bad spell in the weightlifting competition.

O Jong Ae won the bronze in the women's 53-kg division on Monday but said she had underperformed and apologized for letting down the people of her nation.

A day earlier, world champion Cha Kum Kol of North Korea managed only fifth place in the men's 56-kilogram category. His teammate Ri Kyong Sok was eliminated after three failed attempts in the snatch.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Natalie Woolfolk is 12th

Natalie Woolfolk of Arnold, Md., and Carissa Gump were unable to advance in the 63 kg class in women's weightlifting competition held at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Tuesday afternoon.

Woolfolk placed 12th with a total of 211 pounds lifted, including 115 in the clean and jerk, while Gump was 14th with a 204 total and 116 in the clean and jerk.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Weighlifting: Anything but a Breeze as Michaela battles the pain
From Mike Rowbottom

The sound generated by weightlifters at work brings to mind of a house of correction. But even in the domain of excruciated cries here at the BUAA Gymnasium yesterday, what the only British weighlifter at the Games went through was above and beyond the call of duty.

As Michaela Breeze moved forwards, tentatively, for her final effort in the women's 63kg qualifying competition her face was drawn with the pain of a back injury which had prevented her taking her third and final attempt in the snatch. Having briefly wondered whether she could carry on, the 29-year-old PE teacher from Ivybridge, Devon had managed two clean and jerks - where the bar, bowed with weight, rests momentarily on the heaving chest - and now faced her final challenge of 100kg with a look of utter trepidation.

Up came the bar, and with it a roar of approval from a Chinese crowd that had witnessed her earlier tribulations backstage via the ubiquitous television screens. Now for the final effort - face contorted, she raised the bar above her head, staggering, steadying, until the judge's buzzer finally signalled she could lay her burden down. This she gladly did, looking briefly as if she might fall sobbing onto it before rising, ever so carefully, and hobbling off with an expression that was a confluence of emotions.

"The Olympic Games are only once every four years and you've got to do what you can," she said. "And I did that. But I've never pushed through pain like that before. If it had been any competition other than the Olympics I would have withdrawn."

Breeze, who is the current Commonwealth champion, became Britain's first female weightlifter to reach the Games when she competed in Athens four years ago, finishing ninth. But having received a late wild card entry three weeks before these Games began, she knew that her Olympic ambitions would be severely limited just a week later when she began to suffer muscle spasms in her back so severe that it was preventing her training.

Breeze's coach, Andrew Davies, admitted that even though his athlete was keenly aware of her position as the nation's sole Olympic representative in her sport, she had doubted her ability to carry out that function.

"At one point, before we came out here, Michaela did say to me 'I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can do the clean and jerk'," recalled Davies, who set her the target of earning a total - which requires a minimum of one scoring effort in each discipline.

For a while during the break between competitions, as the screens made clear, Breeze looked unlikely to achieve that goal. She lay on the floor with her arm over her face while a physiotherapist appeared to be trying to remove one of her legs by pulling it across her body - no doubt in an effort to help. She squatted on her haunches. No good. She leant back against a wall with a handrail pressed to the small of her back. Still no good....

Breeze, whose pupils at Ivybridge Community College have been following her progress closely, has bests of 101kg in the snatch and 122kg in the clean and jerk, but here she had to settle for equivalent weights of 80 and 100kg as she eventually finished 15th out of the 20 lifters. That, however, was not the point.

"It was about pride today," she said. "I was under no illusions it was going to be an easy competition, and position was kind of irrelevant.

"If I'd come out for my last snatch I probably wouldn't have been able to make it through the clean and jerk. The pain has really limited my ability to clean and jerk in training. So that was really just a case of saving something.

"I've gone through a whole rollercoaster of thinking I wasn't going to go, then getting a place, then getting the problem with my back. So I'm disappointed, but chuffed at the same time. Now I'd like to defend my Commonwealth title in 2010 and then aim for London 2012."

Her planning for those two events may be adversely affected, however, if her Lottery funding drops as a result of her position here. "I've got funding at the moment, but I might not have after this," she said,

"I hope it doesn't go against me because if they cut it I'm going to be in trouble."

* Memo to UK Sport: Don't shoot the Breeze.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Kivumbi saga: Blood thicker than medals?

By James Bakama

FOR Ismael Katamba, the 2008 Beijing Olympics will always evoke sore memories. Ironically, the diminutive weightlifter's tears are not from Beijing but events before the games of the 29th Olympiad.

Katamba strongly insists that he was robbed of a place on Uganda's Olympic team by a system pregnant with nepotism.

Mubarak Kivumbi, who was on Monday disqualified from the Games for being overweight, was the Uganda Weightlifting Federation's (UWF) choice for Beijing.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave Uganda a 56kg wild card that UWF awarded to Kivumbi.
Kivumbi, suffice it to note, is a son of UWF boss Salim Musoke, who doubles up as the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) treasurer.

UWF however maintains that Kimbowa was the best choice. Katamba, on the other hand, challenges UWF to authenticate their stand.

The pint-sized Katamba contends that he is more physically suited to compete at 56kgs than Kivumbi, who in Beijing weighed 61kgs, five kilogrammes short of the wild card offer.

"I have lately competed in the 62kg category while weighing 59.63kgs," explains Katamba.

He also cites the 62kg category where he not only beat Kivumbi at the May 10-16 Africa Olympic qualifier in South Africa, but also emerged as Uganda's best lifter.

The 2005 Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) Weightlifter of the Year lifted 97kg and 135kg in snatch and clean and jerk respectively for a 232kg total in the qualifier.

Kivumbi on the other hand pushed 105kgs in snatch but failed to make a lift in the clean and jerk.

According to the Sinclair points system that's used to grade different weight lifters in a team, Katamba emerged best on Uganda's team of seven in South Africa.

The Sinclair format derives its points from lifters' total results minus their weights.

Katamba topped this list with 172 points while Kivumbi tailed with 43.5.

He also refers to competitions after South Africa where he sparkled while Kivumbi was on the sick bed after a motor accident left him with a deep head cut.

The events in Busia and YMCA saw Katamba set national records with 105kg snatch and 140kg clean and jerk lifts for a 245kg total.

"I was therefore shocked when I learnt that Kivumbi would represent Uganda," complained Katamba, who also questioned the procedure used to choose Kivumbi's coach Lanny Kimbowa.

"Kimbowa not only lacks the qualifications to coach at the Olympics, but is also Salim Musoke's son [thus a brother to Kivumbi]."

Katamba is also bitter at the manner in which he was dropped in November from a four-month Olympic Solidarity training stint in Colorado Springs, USA.

"Musoke claimed that I couldn't travel because I had failed to compete at the July All Africa Games in Algeria. I was replaced by his son Moses Kimbowa, who hadn't been active for two years."

Katamba says when he sought further explanation he was informed that Kimbowa was going for a coaching course. "As I knew, the coaching course Uganda had was in Egypt and not USA," he insists.

But when contacted yesterday UWF's vice president (technical) James Onyango maintained that Katamba had no grounds to complain.

He said the Katamba-Kivumbi case was an issue of fading talent against an emerging one.

"It's true Katamba could have done better than Kivumbi in South Africa, but we had to consider the future. We expect more from the younger Kivumbi," argued Onyango.

He said the best Katamba could have done in the South Africa competition would have been to qualify.

"If he had done so, no one would have questioned his credentials."

Onyango also dismissed claims that coach Kimbowa was not qualified. "The only problem is that he is Kimbowa's brother."

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Prapawadee home Friday
By WANCHAI RUJAWONGSANTI

BEIJING : Olympic weightlifting champion Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon will return to Thailand on Friday to prevent ''chaotic scenes'' at her home. Prapawadee, who won the 53kg gold medal, said yesterday she had learned that the media had gone to her home in Nakhon Sawan to seek interviews with her parents.

''I am afraid this could cause a problem for my parents,'' she said.

''They are old and may not know how to deal with this.''

The media also want stories from Ob-om club where she first learned about the sport and Thaworn Farm club which made her a good athlete, she said.

''This has caused chaos,'' said Prapawadee, who was originally scheduled to return home with the weightlifting team after the Games.

''I will return home on August 15 to prevent more problems.''

Prapawadee joined a celebration to mark Her Majesty the Queen's birthday at the Thai embassy yesterday _ the country's Mother Day.

She cried when she heard the song Im-oon, which is devoted to mothers.

''I'd like all Thai mothers to be happy. Kay (her nickname) loves mother very much,'' she told the gathering.