Topic: News: 2008 Olympics News

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Uganda: Kivumbi Out On Technicality
By Mark Ssali

Uganda's campaign at the 29th Olympiad got off to a terible stutter yesterday after Mubarak Kivumbi was disqualified from competing. The weightlifter was meant to kick-start Uganda's pursuit of elusive Olympic medals but was ruled out of the 56kg category competition at the Beijing University of Aerunatics and Astronautics Gymnasium after weighing in at 61.6kgs.

Kivumbi, the country's lone representative in one of the oldest sporting disciplines in the Olympic fold, had expected to compete in the 62kg category before being shocked to be off the competition start list.

Kivumbi's coach Larney Kimbowa was at pains to explain the mishap yesterday, crying foul over the lack of help from the authorities on the issue.

"Traditionally, you declare a lifter's category and his total. But at the technical meeting here on August 7, we found new rules which stated that any category entered during the accreditation period (February this year) should be the one for competition," Kimbowa laboured at the Games Village yesterday.

"We asked them why they were telling us now and not earlier, and they didn't have an answer. We pleaded with the Competitons Secretary and even tried to seek audience with the president of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) but it seemed they didn't want us to see him.

"Even Mr Salim Musoke who is our weightlifting president in Uganda tried to see the officials, as did Mr Gabriel Oloka, all in vain. When we got to the venue, Kivumbi's name was not where it should be and a quick weigh in proved it. The secretary was not available and the IWF office was empty," Kimbowa explained.

"So we were asked to leave a written letter and told that our Chef De Mission (Roger Ddungu) should go see the officials in the afternoon. I will go with him myself because they might need technical information. But that will be after the minister's visit to the Village later. Let us hope they will allow him to compete in the 62kg tomorrow (today) "

Kimbowa was put to task to explain the same thing all over again when Sports Minister Charles Bakkabulindi visited the Village later.

Bakkabulindi fumes

"So, what is going on with the weightlifter? I don't want any monkey tricks here, you are supposed to be representing your country, not individuals," the minister quipped during his address, before he was calmed down with an explanation of the origin of the weight discrepancy.

Kivumbi, a son to the Uganda Olympic Committee's Treasurer Salim Musoke, was also involved in controversy at the All Africa Games in Algiers last year when a lift that should have sent him into the medal bracket was ruled out by the judges. Musoke is in Beijing at the invitation of the International Olympic Committee along with Oloka.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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After lengthy wait, success for Roach
The Bonney Lake mother of three capped a 14-year journey with a sixth-place finish in her weight class.
By Greg Bishop

BEIJING — The coach for weightlifter Melanie Roach noticed she was unusually quiet the past two weeks, even as her long Olympic quest was nearing its conclusion. She was staring into space, appearing to be deep in thought.

Roach, of Bonney Lake, said she spent that time thinking back on the past 14 years — on her husband's rise in Washington state politics, on their autistic son and two other children, on the family's gymnastics business, on her back troubles, on her comeback, and on how her smiling image had ended up on a McDonald's cup.

"No wonder she didn't say much," said her coach, John Thrush.

Thrush never doubted that Roach would end up here, at the Beijing Olympics, where she finished sixth in the 53-kilogram (117-pound) weight class and set an American record with a combined lift of 193 kilograms, or about 425 pounds.

Even when back pain forced Roach into bed for days at a time, even after she had helped build a family, even after she had nearly retired, her coach never doubted her. He could feel this day, this moment, deep inside.

So many had sacrificed for her to be here, and many of them sat in the stands of the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics gymnasium, wearing light blue Team Roach T-shirts.

Roach's husband, Dan, clung to a pair of binoculars. Her oldest son, Ethan, wore his lucky beaded necklace. Several others sat behind — Roach's mother, mother-in-law, coach, chiropractor, lifting partner. Even a friend from Zimbabwe's swim team, who trained near Roach in the Seattle area, stopped by to say hello.

Roach spent the past two weeks away from her family, more time than she ever had before. She needed "kid time" on Saturday, so she summoned Dan and Ethan to the athletes' village, where they spent a few hours simply hanging out.

Dan and Ethan had visited a part of China near Chengdu, an area crushed by the recent earthquake. Their mission demonstrated the art of balance long perfected by the Roach family, even at these Olympics. They went with friends from Children's Hope International, saw entire villages with houses torn apart. The devastation hit Dan Roach in ways he never imagined.

[attachimg=1]
Melanie Roach of Bonney Lake flashes a smile after a successful
lift in the snatch during the women's 53-kilogram weightlifting competition.
Photo By Rod Mar

"A life-changing trip," he said.

Followed by a life-changing event on Sunday.

Over the years, Roach has gone from a fast-rising weightlifting superstar, to the first American woman to lift double her body weight, to a lifter with severe back trouble, to a success story. Her chiropractor, Greg Summers, called her back problems the worst he had seen.

Then came an experimental operation, followed by the comeback, followed by more attention than any family from a small town in Washington could reasonably expect. Roach garnered national attention — and that McDonald's cup — with her story.

Thousands of e-mail messages poured in from around the world. They came from people with back pain, from parents with autistic children, from the owners of small businesses who struggled to manage their time. Each offered inspiration.

By Sunday, all that was left to do was lift. Roach made all six of her attempts spread over two events: the snatch and the clean-and-jerk. She set a personal competition record with an 83-kilogram snatch (about 183 pounds). After that, her husband stood in the stands, pumped his fist and asked rhetorically, "Great place to do a personal record, huh?"

After each lift, Roach threw down the bar in elation and sauntered off the stage with a fist-pumping swagger.

"It was the culmination of 14 years," she said. "Definitely worth the wait."

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Chen Yanqing retains her Weightlifting gold

(BEIJING, August 11) -- Chen Yanqing of China comfortably retained her Women's Weightlifting 58 kilogram gold on August 11, after lifting a total weight of 244kg.

Chen led the Snatch by lifting 106kg, followed by 99kg from Ecuador's Alexandra Escobar and three other lifters who tied at 98kg.

Chen continued on with a 138kg in the Clean and Jerk and took the gold medal. Marina Shainova of Russia lifted 129kg and took the silver medal with a total weight of 227kg. O Jong-ae of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had the same total weight of 226kg as Wandee Kameaim of Thailand, but took the bronze medal thanks to a slightly lower pre-competition weigh-in.

Chen also set the new Olympic record for the Clean and Jerk and total weight.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Tough girl Chen wins China gold
By Sophie Hardach

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chen Yanqing won another Olympics weightlifting gold for China on Monday, defending her title in the 58kg class with the toughness of a woman who has risen from desperate poverty to the top league in her sport.

Chen, who came out of retirement for the fourth time to represent her country at the Games, is the first woman to win two Olympic gold medals in weightlifting. She snatched 106kg and lifted 138kg for the clean and jerk, winning with a total of 244kg.

Chen, the daughter of poor peasants who had actually hoped for a son to help them on the farm, also won gold in Athens.

Marina Shainova from Russia won the silver and O Jong Ae from North Korea the bronze.

After her Athens gold, Chen said she was completely exhausted and tired of looking "like a dumpling" after bulking up in the gym for the strenuous sport. The 29-year-old, who lists driving and reading as her hobbies, said at the time did not want to compete anymore, but was persuaded to try for a comeback in Beijing.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Chen Yanqing wins more weightlifting gold for China

Chen Yanqing won her second straight gold medal in the women's 58-kilogram category, also breaking two Olympic records at the 2008 Beijing Games on Monday.

Chen lifted a total of 244 kg in the final to win China's third gold medal in weightlifting in as many days. That total surpasses her previous mark set at the 2004 Athens Games by 7 kg.

Her lift of 138 kg in the clean and jerk also set a new Olympic standard.

Russia's Maria Shainova took silver by lifting a total of 227 kg, while O Jong Ae of North Korea lifted 226 kg to win the bronze.

Chen's win comes after Chen Xiexia won the women's 53-kg competition on Saturday and 17-year-old Long Qingquan followed up with a second gold on Sunday in the men's 56-kg category.

In the men's 69-kg category, Montreal's Francis Luna-Grenier lifted a total of 293 kg to finish second in the Group C standings on Monday.

Luna-Grenier, 21, lifted 131 kg in the snatch and 162 kg in the clean and jerk. He'll await the results of an additional 22 competitors in his category who are competing in two other groups on Tuesday.

In the men's 62-kg category, Jasvir Singh of Burnaby, B.C., finished in fifth place out of six competitors, lifting 115 kg in the snatch and 151 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 266 kg.

Group A of the men's 62-kg class will compete at 7 p.m. Beijing time on Monday.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Zhang wins China's 4th weightlifting gold

BEIJING (AP) — China's Zhang Xiangxiang grabbed the weightlifting gold medal in the men's 62-kilogram division, extending the host nation's winning streak in the sport.

Zhang took 143 kilograms (315.3 pounds) in the snatch and 176 kilograms (388 pounds) in the clean and jerk Monday to clinch China's fourth weightlifting gold at the Beijing Olympics.

Colombia's Diego Salazar won the silver medal, 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) ahead of bronze medalist Triyatno of Indonesia.

Ji Hunmin of South Korea and Im Young Su of North Korea were second and third after the snatch but both bombed out in the clean and jerk.

It was Zhang's second Olympic medal. He got bronze in Sydney 2000 in the 56-kilogram division.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Dominant China win third weightlifting gold

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Chen Yanqing easily defended her title in the women's 58-kilogram category Monday, winning China's third weightlifting gold medal and breaking two Olympic records.

 Maria Shainova of Russia was a distant second, and North Korea's O Jong Ae sneaked into third place with her final lift in a close race for the other medals.

Chen -- the first woman to win two Olympic gold medals in weightlifting -- lifted a total of 244 kilograms (537.9 pounds) shattering her previous Olympic record from four years ago by 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds).

She lifted 106 kilograms (233.7 pounds) in the snatch and 138 kilograms (304.2 pounds) in the clean jerk -- another Olympic high score.

"In 2004, I won the gold medal for myself. Today, I won it for all my supporters and fans," the 29-year-old said, revealing that she almost quit the sport three times.

The Olympic host nation is off to a perfect start in the weightlifting competition, with three gold medals in three attempts.

Chen Xiexia won the women's 53-kilogram competition on Saturday and 17-year-old Long Qingquan followed up with a second gold Sunday in the men's 56-kilogram category.

 Chen Yanqing's win was the most one-sided yet.

She barely broke a sweat in her three attempts in the snatch, finishing with what looked like an effortless 106-kg (233.7 pound) lift.

In the clean and jerk she equaled the record of 130 kgs (286.6 pounds) in her first attempt, added 2 kgs (4.4 pounds) for her second lift and set off loud cheers in the crowd by lifting 138 kgs (304.2 pounds) in the third.

Had she added more weight in the snatch, Chen might have had a shot at breaking her own world record total of 251 kgs (553.35 pounds).

"Winning the gold medal is more important than breaking the world record," she said.

Thailand's Wandee Kameaim was edged out of silver position by Shainova and then lost the bronze to O, who pulled off a 131 kg (288.8 pound) clean and jerk in her final attempt.

Shainova's total was 227 kgs (500.4 pounds) -- 1 kg (2.2 pounds) more than O and Kameaim. The North Korean got the bronze because of a lower body weight.

 Still, the North Korean was disappointed with third place calling it an "underperformance."

China doesn't have any competitors in the women's 63-kg competition on Tuesday, but Liu Chunhong is looking to repeat Chen's Olympic double on Wednesday when she seeks to defend the 69-kg gold medal she won in Athens.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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For Chen, women hold up half the sky
By Sophie Hardach

BEIJING (Reuters) - Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Chen Yanqing launched into a brief lecture on gender equality after a Swedish journalist asked her how she was able to lift heavier weights than most men in his home country.

"In my country, both men and women are on an equal footing and I never thought women were inferior to men," said the Chinese lifter, who is the only woman to have won two Olympic weightlifting gold medals.

Chen's father has been quoted as saying he had originally hoped for a son who could help on his farm, rather than a daughter.

In modern China, women face challenges in all stages of life, ranging from couples who favor boys over girls to employers who prefer hiring men in many jobs.

But the smiling, chatty Chen, who competes in the 58kg class, was adamant that Chinese women need not take the back seat.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I thought men and women were on the same level, so that's why (I can lift as much as men)," she said.

It was after all Mao Zedong, the founding Communist leader of modern China, who famously declared that "women hold up half the sky".