Week 3: Where’s the Mangold?

With all the hype that surrounded Mangold before the Olympics started, I was really hoping for some truth to the hype. Instead, China dominated once again and Zhou Lulu took home another gold medal for China in the 75+kg match.

Xu lifted 146kg in the snatch, 187 in the clean and jerk for a total of 333, which was 1 more kg than silver medal winner Tatiana Kashirina from the Russian Federation.

Hripsime Khurshudyan from Armenia took home the bronze with a total of 294 kg.

But what happened to the “world’s strongest woman” and the “big girl”. They both failed to round up the top 5. Robles came in at 7th place while Mangold staggered in at 10th with a dismal total lift of 265kg. Mangold blames her injured left wrist, but since she’s still a favorite, there’s hope that she heals in time for the next Olympic games.

Mangold Fail

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Week 3: Where’s the Mangold?

With all the hype that surrounded Mangold before the Olympics started, I was really hoping for some truth to the hype. Instead, China dominated once again and Zhou Lulu took home another gold medal for China in the 75+kg match.

Xu lifted 146kg in the snatch, 187 in the clean and jerk for a total of 333, which was 1 more kg than silver medal winner Tatiana Kashirina from the Russian Federation.

Hripsime Khurshudyan from Armenia took home the bronze with a total of 294 kg.

But what happened to the “world’s strongest woman” and the “big girl”. They both failed to round up the top 5. Robles came in at 7th place while Mangold staggered in at 10th with a dismal total lift of 265kg. Mangold blames her injured left wrist, but since she’s still a favorite, there’s hope that she heals in time for the next Olympic games.

Mangold Fail

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Week 2: China dominates

Wang shows off her first gold medal

The weightlifting competition started off small but strong for China’s Mingjuan Wang who brings home the gold in the 48kg match leaving Japan’s Hiromi Miyaki with the silver and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (PRK) Chun Hwa Ryang trailing behind with the bronze medal.

At 4’11” and weighing only 106lbs, Wang won her first weightlifting gold medal by lifting 91 kg in the snatch and 114 in the clean and jerk for a total of 205, just 8 more kgs than Miyaki who totaled in at 197 kg with 87 kg in the snatch and 110 in the clean and jerk. Ryang only trailed by 5 kgs with 80kg in the snatch and 112 in the clean and jerk.

Chia’s Li Xueying 58 kg weightlifter also brought home the gold for the women’s team. The men’s team is also leading with the most gold medals in weightlifting.

Expect yelps and facial expressions to get crazier as the classes get higher and the weight gets heavier in the upcoming weeks. The US team did not compete in this class.

Two of the team members are competing in the 75+kg competition.

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Week 2: China dominates

Wang shows off her first gold medal

The weightlifting competition started off small but strong for China’s Mingjuan Wang who brings home the gold in the 48kg match leaving Japan’s Hiromi Miyaki with the silver and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (PRK) Chun Hwa Ryang trailing behind with the bronze medal.

At 4’11” and weighing only 106lbs, Wang won her first weightlifting gold medal by lifting 91 kg in the snatch and 114 in the clean and jerk for a total of 205, just 8 more kgs than Miyaki who totaled in at 197 kg with 87 kg in the snatch and 110 in the clean and jerk. Ryang only trailed by 5 kgs with 80kg in the snatch and 112 in the clean and jerk.

Chia’s Li Xueying 58 kg weightlifter also brought home the gold for the women’s team. The men’s team is also leading with the most gold medals in weightlifting.

Expect yelps and facial expressions to get crazier as the classes get higher and the weight gets heavier in the upcoming weeks. The US team did not compete in this class.

Two of the team members are competing in the 75+kg competition.

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Week 1: The Basics

Let’s start with the basics so that we can understand what we are seeing when we watch an Olympic weightlifting match and what the announcer is saying while reporting:

Format- according to official Olympic guidelines:

There are seven weight categories within the women’s competition and within each category: the competitors can attempt to lift up to more than three times their body weight

–          48 kg (106 lb)

–          53 kg (117 lb)

–          58 kg (128 lb)

–          63 kg (139 lb)

–          69 kg (152 lb)

–          75 kg (165 lb)

–          75 + kg (165+ lbs)

Format Rules- according to Olympic Guidelines

There are three allowed  attempts at the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk

An athlete’s best lift in each attempt is combined to determine the overall result

If an athlete fails to make a valid lift with any of their three attempts in the snatch, they are eliminated.

When there is a tie in lift weight: the athlete with the lower body weight is declared the winner

However, if two athletes lift the same total weight and have the same body weight, the winner is the athlete who lifted the total weight first.

Moves-

There are two types of “lifts”, the first is the “snatch” where the barbell  is lifted from the floor in a squatting position to above the head in a single swift body movements. The “clean and jerk” is where the bar is first brought up to the shoulders before being jerked over the head with the elbows facing outward.

Dictionary- according to the Olympic Guidelines

No lift – a lift that is judged to be unsuccessful by at least two of the three referees
Press out – “an illegal move where the lifter bends the arms while holding the bar overhead, then presses them out to straighten them
Squat – to drop while bending the legs, with the feet shoulder width a part and knees coming right above the toes so that the body is properly aligned

 

 

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