News

Two-time Olympian Chad Vaughn is on the stage again

Nearly 200 weightlifters, including members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and 2009 Senior World Team, will compete at the American Open in Mobile, Ala., Dec. 11-13. Among the athletes scheduled to participate in the event are 2009 Senior World Team member Sarah Davis (Rincon, Ga.) and two-time Olympian Chad Vaughn (Norman, Okla.), who will be competing in his first competition since

Thailand’s goal: 100 golds, overall crown

On the eve of the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos, the head of the Thailand Olympic Committee bared his country's strong intention of keeping the overall crown in the 11-nation regional event. "Anything less than the overall title will be a disappointment for us," Gen Yutthasak Sasiprabha, the TOC president, told The Bangkok Post. "We expect to win about 100 gold medals," he added. The Thai government has put up an incentive package of 200,000 baht for every gold, 100,000 for a silver and 50,000 for the bronze, just enough to get all their 800 athletes, probably the biggest delegation in the Games, to go for the gold and bring home the bacon. If they do, it will be the first time in the last four editions of the SEA Games that a non-host would win the overall crown. Thailand, ironically, was also the last country to do it when it won the overall crown in Brunei in 1999. The chef-de-mission of the RP Team, Mario Tanchangco, said the race for the overall crown will be a three-cornered race among Thailand, Vietnam (the 2003 overall champion) and the Philippines (the 2007 overall champion). - Abac Cordero

Naharudin and Zaira (Malaysia) eye record-breaking lifts

One is a previous Games medallist. The other is making her debut. The two weightlifters, Naharudin Mahayudin and Zaira Zakaria, have set a common goal at the Laos SEA Games - to break their own national records in the men's 62kg and women's 48kg events respectively. The 25-year-old Naharudin had defied the odds to win a bronze medal in his Games debut two years ago at Korat. This time, though, he has his reservation over repeating that feat. "The field will be tougher this time around. My competitors include an Olympic Games medallist and world class lifters from Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. It will be tough to win even a medal," said Naharudin. "Their presence, however, will certainly push me to improve on my personal best in this event. For now, that is my main goal," he said. His personal best of 126kg in snatch is the national record. His best lift in clean and jerk is 151kg. Naharudin said he drew inspiration from Bulgarian-born Turk Naim Suleymanoglu (formerly known as Naim Suleimanov) in his pursuit of excellence. Suleymanoglu, nicknamed "the pocket Hercules", has won three Olympic gold medals, seven world titles, six European crowns and shattered 46 world records. "I just love his style. He is so cool and composed. He is stocky in stature but his lift is so perfect. When I took up weightlifting at the age of 15, he was my idol," added Naharudin. In the women's scene, the 22-year-old Zaira is growing to be an icon in her own right since making a breakthrough at the Malaysian Games in Terengganu last year. And after a recent two-month stint in China, Zaira is confident she can break her own national record at the Games in the 48kg category. Her total best lift is 165kg (snatch 72kg, clean and jerk 93kg). "This is my first SEA Games. It will be a great opportunity to know where I stand among some of the world class lifters in my category," said Zaira. "The stint in China was great for me. There was not much distraction and I was able to focus on perfecting my lift. "It will be difficult to get my hands on a medal but I think it is possible to improve on my personal best. That will be my goal," added the Kedah lass. As for Malaysia's campaign at the Games, the best prospect for a medal is seasoned campaigner Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim in the 56kg category. In Korat two years ago, Malaysia also won a silver medal through Che Mohd Azrol Che Mat in the men's over 105kg but Azrol did not make the team this

International youth athletes to participate in Singapore 2010 Friendship Camp

The Singapore 2010 Friendship Camp, held from 8 to 12 December 2009, will see 432 youth athletes from around the world. A total of 275 student athletes from 132 National Olympic Committees, together with 157 student athletes from Singapore will experience an exciting range of activities and learn about the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. Participants will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with well-known athletes like Michael Klim, Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Dexter Lee during the Culture and Education Programme, which will provide a sneak preview of what athletes can expect at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games in August 2010, among other exciting camp

First competition day results at East Asian Games

W 48 kg   1 CHN YANG Lian 1 90 2 112 202.0 2 TPE CHEN Wei-ling 3 79 1 113 192.0 3 PRK RYANG Chun Hwa 2 84 3 108 192.0   M 56 kg   1 CHN LONG Qingquan 1 125 1 155 280.0 2 TPE YANG Chin-yi 2 105 2 135 240.0 3 MGL ENKHJARGAL Munkhdul 3 95 3 120 215.0   M 62 kg   1 PRK KIM Un Guk 1 140 1 170 310.0 GR 2 TPE YANG Sheng-hsiung 4 132 2 164 296.0 3 PRK CHA Kum Chol 2 140 4 155 295.0 4 KOR JI Hunmin 3 133 3 160 293.0   GR - Games

Turkey Paid Bulgaria USD 7 M for Weightlifting Legend

Turkey is reported to have paid USD 7 M to Bulgaria's communist government led by Todor Zhivkov for the Bulgarian-Turkish World and Olympic Champion in weightlifting Naim Suleimanov (Naim Süleymanoğlu). The former Deputy Turkish PM, Ekrem Pakdemirli, told the ‘Bulturk' newspaper that ex Turkish PM and President and Turgut Ozal had personally told him to pay over the USD 7 M to Bulgaria. The sum had previously been reported to be USD 1 M. Pakdemirli is quoted as saying that Zhivkov's government asked for the huge sum and that the Turkish PM Ozal had paid it before the 1988 Seoul Olympics to allow Süleymanoğlu to compete for Turkey. He added that at the time that amount of money could have built a water supply system for at least 100 villages. Süleymanoğlu, formerly known as Suleimanov, was born in Ptichar, Bulgaria in 1967. He won three Olympic Championships, seven World Championships and six European Championships and earned 46 world records. Born in Bulgaria of Turkish descent, he was nicknamed "The Pocket Hercules" due to his small stature (1,47 meters). He is the second of only seven lifters to clean and jerk three times their bodyweight. Suleimanov set his first world record at the age 16 but missed his first chance at Olympic success in 1984 when Bulgaria joined the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Soon afterwards the Communist regime in Bulgaria forced its Turkish minority to adopt Bulgarian names and he became known internationally as Naum Shalamanov. While on a trip to the World Cup Final in Melbourne in 1986, Suleimanov defected. He resurfaced in Turkey and applied for citizenship. He also changed his name from the Bulgarian Suleimanov/Shalamanov to the Turkish Süleymanoğlu. After the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, his family was able to join him in