Topic: News: 2008 Olympics News

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Weightlifting Day 3 Preview: Zhang comes back

(BEIJING, August 10) -- Lifters in the Men's 62kg and Women's 58kg weight classes will compete for Olympic glory on August 11 at the Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium.

Men's 62kg Weightlifting defending Olympic champion China's Shi Zhiyong and 2004 bronze winner Israel Jose Rubio of Venezuela both moved up to the 69kg category, while silver medalist Li Maosheng of China is not participating in the Beijing Games.

These vacancies clear the podium for new champion lifters, or returning ones, in the case of Zhang Xiangxiang of China. Zhang won the Men's 56kg Weightlifting bronze at the Sydney Olympics but did not compete in 2004. He will compete in the 62kg class this year, and is viewed as one of the best bets for China to claim a gold.

Im Yong-su of Korea is another medal favorite after lifting a total of 315kg to finish second at the 2007 World Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Other medal contenders are Pan-American champion Oscar Figueroa of Colombia, who settled for a fifth place at the 2004 Athens Games, and Umurbek Bazarbayev of Turkmenistan, who clinched a seventh-place finish in 2004.

In the Women's 58kg Weightlifting category, the biggest favorite is the defending Olympic champion China's Chen Yanqing, who came out of a two-year retirement in 2006 to set five world weightlifting records at the 15th Asian Games in Doha.

Thailand's Wandee Kameaim, the bronze winner of this category at the Athens Olympics, is another medal contender. She competed in the Women's 58kg weight class at the 2005 World Championships in Doha and won the silver medal with 236kg in the total. A year later she got stuck at 230kg at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships and took the bronze medal.

Group C of the Men's 69kg category will also compete on August 11, but no medals will be awarded until groups A and B compete on August 12.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Long gets gold; Thai weightlifter wins 53kg event

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - China continued to impress in weightlifting at the Olympics, as Long Qingquan captured the gold medal in the men's 56kg class on Sunday.

The 17-year-old Long lifted a total of 292 kgs, barely ahead of Vietnam's Hoang Anh Tuan (290kg), while Indonesia's Eko Irawan (288) took the bronze.

Earlier in the day, Thailand's Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon won a weightlifting gold in the women's 53kg event.

Jaroenrattanatarakoon set an Olympics record with her 126kg lift in the second clean & jerk. She finished with a 221kg total after topping out at 95kg in the snatch.

Yoon Jinhee of South Korea and Nastassia Novikava of Belarus finished with identical 213kg totals, but Yoon was awarded the silver medal because of her lower body weight.

American Melanie Roach finished sixth at an American-record 193kg.

Long's medal was the second gold for China in weightlifting. Chen Xiexia won the women's 53kg event Saturday. Long had lifts of 132kg in the snatch and 160 from the clean & jerk.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Thailand wins women's 53-kg weightlifting gold

BEIJING (AP) - Thai weightlifter Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon gave a fortune teller part of the credit for her Olympic gold medal on Sunday.

Jaroenrattanatarakoon, who changed her name last year, won the women's 53-kilogram category with a total of 221 kilograms (486.2 pounds) and set an Olympic record in the clean and jerk.

South Korea's Yoon Jinhee finished in second place 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," Jaroenrattanatarakoon said. "I don't know if you believe in fortune tellers but she said that if I change my name I will win gold."

She was tied with Novikava after the snatch, but clinched the win with her first clean and jerk at 120 kgs (264 pounds), a weight than no one else was able to match.

After setting the Olympic record in her second attempt, she went for a world record clean and jerk in her third lift. But 126 kgs (277.2 pounds) was too much, and she gave up halfway through the lift, laughing.

"I don't mind that I didn't get the record. I just wanted a medal," she said.

Apart from the name change, the absence of Chinese lifters was also a big help. China has some of the top competitors in the weight class, including world champion Li Pin. But China prioritized other divisions because no country can send more than four women to compete in Olympic weightlifting.

"I'm lucky that China didn't send a lifter in this category," Jaroenrattanatarakoon said. "Then I would have had to be more careful."

Her total was 8 kgs (17.6 pounds) better than Yoon and Novikava. Yoon got the silver because of a lower body weight.

Novikava, silver medalist in the 2007 World Championships, had expected to do better than third place, and couldn't hold back the tears were as she stepped onto the podium.

"I am satisfied, but of course I wanted to get more than bronze," she told reporters. "At training sessions I lifted more than I lifted at today's competition."

Melanie Roach of the United States set an American record with 193 kgs (424.6 pounds), finishing in sixth place.

Jaroenrattanatarakoon's last name didn't fit on the digital scoreboard at the Beijing weightlifting gym, so it was simply abbreviated as J.

The first name roughly translates to "good girl," while the surname means "prosperous," said Boosaba Yodbangtoey, the president of the Thai weightlifting federation.

On Saturday, Chen Xiexia won China's first gold medal of the Beijing Games in the women's 48-kg category. Another dominant Chinese lifter, Chen Yangqing, is expected to defend her 2004 Olympic title in the women's 58 kg on Monday.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Arnold Olympian hopes for strong showing
Natalie Woolfolk takeson world in weightlifting
By Christopher Conroy and Theresa WIinslow

Natalie Woolfolk’s journey to the Beijing Olympics began in the garage of her father’s home.
A growth spurt had ended the Arnold resident’s gymnastics career, and her father, Kirk Woolfolk, wanted her to try weightlifting so she’d have something new to do.

Ms. Woolfolk, though, said she didn’t think she’d be any good at it. She turned out to be very, very wrong.

Mr. Woolfolk, the head strength and conditioning coach at the Naval Academy, said his daughter picked the sport up really, really fast.

“I didn’t know she’d be an Olympian, but it was pretty obvious she’d be good at it,” he said.

Ms. Woolfolk was a freshman at Broadneck High School at the time, he said, and by her senior year, she was already at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. She ended up completing her high school requirements there, with the hours transferring to Broadneck, so she was able to graduate with her friends in 2002.

“Before I knew it, I was making international teams and realized what I had the potential to do,” she said.

[attachimg=1]
U.S. Olympic weightlifter Natalie Woolfolk, of Arnold, works out
at the United States training facility at Beijing Normal University last week
in Beijing. Ms. Woolfolk holds all American records in the 63 kg weight class.

Ms. Woolfolk, 24, arrived in Beijing at the end of last month, the first day the Olympic Village was open. She has been training with the U.S. team at Beijing Normal University, and pretty much staying put there until after she competes Tuesday.

“It’s quiet and away from the chaos,” she said last week. “It’s nice and relaxing. The U.S. training facility, it keeps me sane and not too nervous about competing. It’s almost just like home.”

One consequence of her schedule, though, is that she hasn’t much time to see the sights. She plans to rectify that after the Games.

Ms. Woolfolk has seen plenty of other athletes, however. “It’s crazy seeing all these athletes — the ones you’ve seen on TV, the ones you’ve looked up to. I almost feel unworthy.”

Weighty issues

Ms. Woolfolk competes in the 63-kilogram (139-pound) weight class in both the snatch and clean and jerk. The snatch is just what it sounds like: snatching weights off the ground and lifting them overhead in one continuous motion. In the clean and jerk, the lifter first takes the bar to the top of the chest, then pushes it overhead.

Ms. Woolfolk’s first chance to rank herself among the best in the world came at the 2007 World Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Placing seventh in the 63-kilogram clean and jerk and 21st in the snatch, Ms. Woolfolk returned home in late September with the realization that she could vie for a spot on this year’s Olympic squad.

The 5-foot-3-inch, 135-pounder also came away with the confidence that her rhythm, form and technique were good enough to challenge the most dominant weightlifters in the world.

Her Olympic training has been rooted in a series of cycles, with the most recent cycle leading up to Tuesday’s competition angled toward maximizing her strength while maintaining her form.

“For this cycle, I needed to focus on getting stronger,” Ms. Woolfolk said. “My technique has always been consistent, but it never hurts to get stronger in my sport. I’ve been doing tons of squats and pulls.”

Still, even given all this, she doesn’t consider herself strong. She attributes her success in weightlifting to power and technique, both of which she got from gymnastics.

Over the past six months, Ms. Woolfolk has consistently snatched at the 100-kilogram level, with her highest mark being a 105-kilogram pull early last year. That was set while Ms. Woolfolk was competing in the 69-kilogram weight class, however.

Woolfolk’s highest 63-kilogram competition mark for the snatch is 100 kilograms, while her best in the clean and jerk is 118 kilograms.

When added together, that makes her highest composite mark a 228. Even if she equals that in Beijing, she’d fall more than 20 kilograms short of the marks set at last summer’s World Games by Chinese and Russian competitors.

Nevertheless, Ms. Woolfolk refuses to be intimidated.

“I’ve been training for this opportunity for a very long time,” she said. “I am ready to compete. I am strong and in shape, and I hope I give some people a run for their money.”

Mr. Woolfolk, who left for Beijing on Thursday, also believes his daughter is prepared for the challenges of the Games. Ms. Woolfolk’s mother and stepfather also will be in Beijing to watch her compete, and her fiance, Casey Burgener, is already there. He’s a weightlifter, too.

“She has made it to the pinnacle of her sport,” Mr. Woolfolk said. “It’s a great honor. I think it finally set in in May, when the flag was draped around her shoulders.”

Ms. Woolfolk, in turn, credits her father, who used to coach her, with much of her success.

“He’s been there through my ups and downs, and he deserves this reward just as much as I do,” she said.

Her plans after the Olympics aren’t completely set, but she does want to do some European travel with Mr. Burgener before moving on to a job as a strength coach at the University of San Diego. She hopes to visit the Annapolis area for Christmas.

As for weightlifting, she wants to take a bit of time off after Beijing, and then re-evaluate her competitive career.

“I’ll take it day by day,” she said, quickly adding, “I love the sport.”

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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No medal for Roach despite record performance
By Travis Pittman

BEIJING - She did it the way she always does - with a big smile and lots of confidence.

But the amazing Olympic journey for Bonney Lake's Melanie Roach came to an end Sunday without a medal, finishing sixth in the final of the women's 53kg weightlifting competition.

During the snatch portion, Roach made all three of her lifts and made it look easy, even smiling as she lifted 83kg over her head.

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In the clean and jerk portion, she lifted more than twice her body weight, topping out at 110kg, pumping her fist each time after throwing the bar down in triumph.

But the combined weight of 193kg wasn't enough to put her on the podium.

Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand won the gold with a combined weight of 220kg. Novikava Nastassia of Belarus and Yoon Jinhee of Korea tied for silver with a combined 213kg.

Still, her combined lifts did set a new American record for the division.

Melanie's journey to this Olympic moment was more than eight years in the making. She was a standout gymnast at Auburn High School until injuries took their toll.

She took up weightlifting as part of her rehab and it stuck. She was a favorite to make the U.S. team going to Sydney in 2000, but a herniated disc ended that dream.

She gave it up and started a family with her husband Dan, a Washington state legislator. After giving birth to her third child, Melanie had the itch again and got back in the gym. Since then, she's consistently been one of the best lifters in the world.

Amazingly, she made her Olympic debut at 33. She is six years older than the next oldest competitor in the final round Sunday and nine years older than the gold medalist.

If she were to compete in London in 2012, she'd do it at age 37. So is retirement the likely option?

Dan says not necessarily.

"This was our goal but her coaches think she still can improve, so we'll go home and settle in and take family time, then make some decisions," said Dan.

In addition to her own training, Melanie has spent the past few years running her own gymnastics gym and taking care of an autistic son.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Chinese teen wins weightlifting gold

Long Qingquan, 17, won China's second Olympic weightlifting gold in as many days on Sunday at the Beijing University Gymasium.

Qingquan took gold in the 56-kilogram category by lifting 292 kg overall. He hoisted 132 kg in the snatch and 160 in the clean and jerk.

Qingquan, who had never competed internationally, only missed one lift. With the gold already secure, he was unsuccessful on a clean and jerk attempt of 164 kg.

The Olympic and world records set early in the decade by Turkey's Halil Mutlu were not approached.

The Chinese teen follows Chen Xiexia, who won gold for China on Saturday in the women's 48-kg class.

Hoang Anh Tuan of Vietnam was just tow kg back to take the silver. Eko Irawan of Indonesia won bronze.

Thai lifter changes name, wins gold

China may have had more medals on Sunday if it were not for a rule that limits competitors to four women per country, according to the gold medal winner of the 53-kg category.

Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon won Thailand's first gold medal on Sunday, lifting a total of 221 kg.

The Thai lifter set an Olympic record with a clean and jerk of 126 and then was unsuccessful at 130, which was one kg more than the world record set last year by China's Li Ping.

"I don't mind that I didn't get the record. I just wanted a medal," she said.

The winner used to be known as Junpim Kuntatean, but changed her name last year to improve her luck after a session with a fortune teller.

Still, she said after her win that she felt fortunate her weight class was devoid of Chinese competitors.

The other two women on the podium were each eight kg back. Yoon Jinhee of South Korea took the silver, with Natassia Novikava of Belarus grabbing bronze.

Melanie Roach of the United States finished sixth.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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China Weightlifter, 17, Wins Gold

China earned its second weightlifting gold medal of these Games when Long Qingquan, 17, won the men's 56-kg category with a lift of 643.7 pounds in front of a wildly supportive home crowd. It was the international debut for Long.

Vietnam's Hoang Anh Tuan of Vietnam claimed the silver with a lift of 639.3 and Indonesia's Eko Irawan won the bronze.

Long lifted 291 pounds in the snatch and 352.7 pounds in the clean and jerk, missing just one lift, his final clean and jerk of 361.6 pounds.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Haworth's Olympic finale?
By Adam Van Brimmer

Cheryl Haworth's retirement plans sound like those of her fellow twentysomethings. She's vague on the details and in no hurry to firm them up. "There are a lot of different directions I can go," she said with a shrug. "I'm looking forward to finding my niche and banging it out."

That search could start in weeks, not decades. Haworth is 25 going on 55 in retirement parlance. As most people her age toil in entry-level jobs, she works at her vocation's pinnacle. She's spent half her life there already.

And Haworth is ready to retire from Olympic weightlifting following next Saturday's competition in Beijing, China ... maybe.

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Team Savannah lifter Cheryl Hayworth focuses on the bar
as she prepares for a work out at the Anderson-Cohen Weightlifting
Center. Hayworth is still getting back into shape following elbow
surgery in June. Photo by Richard Burkhart

"Yeah, I'm feeling tired. Yeah, my back hurts. Yeah, I'm going to retire," Haworth said. "It's easy for me to speculate about the day I say that. But I won't know when it is for sure until the time comes."

The Beijing Games are her third Olympics but not necessarily her last - even though she has nothing left to prove.

She's earned a medal already.

She's won world championships.

She's lived at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

Another Olympics means another four-year commitment to training. Another Olympics means another four-year delay for her art career. Another Olympics means another four-year wait for what she calls "a different groove."

"She's been talking for the first time about maybe going into this or getting into that, but I can't tell how immediate that is," said her father, Bob. "You'd have to get into her head on that. And good luck with that, because I've given up."