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The strongest Syrian’s medal dream

Ahed Joughili (27) is the most famous Syrian weightlifter, who competed in the 105 kg bodyweight category at the Olympics in 2008. Joughili’s first international success was winning a gold medal at the2006 Asian Games in Doha. He claimed both gold medals for the 105 kg snatch and clean and jerk at the 2009 Mediterranean Games in Pescara. Q: How can a boy become a weightlifter in Syria? A: It is not uncommon in Syria at all, as we have about 15 clubs in the country and relatively a great number of people find this sport interesting to practice. The problem comes from the fact of missing professional coaches and low capacity in administration comparing to developing number of men intend to join groups of weightlifters in Syria. I should say, besides football, wrestling and boxing, weightlifting’s popularity is growing. The village I was born, Hama, is one of the centers of this sport in Syria. Nowadays we have two hundred lifters to practice here day by day. Q: What is your personal story falling in love with barbells? A: I started my weightlifting trainings in 2000. I know at age of 16 it was a little bit late to start but I was really strong and the gap quickly disappeared. After ten months of training I was able to improve my clean and jerk result as 175 kg. Many said I was a talented guy and I believed in them. Five years later I had my first results on international podium as well. I won a silver medal (clean and jerk), bronze (snatch) at the Mediterranean Games. His coach Dimitar Stoikov (BUL) has been working in Syria since 2010. He had very famous lifters under his leadership, such as Sevdalin Marinov, Asen Zlatev for four, Milan Dobrev for two years. “We started to work together with Ahed 16 months ago” he said. “I think this guy is extremely strong and I am sure if he started his training sessions in one of the traditionally powerful countries of weightlifting, let me put in Russia or China, he already could have been an Olympic Champion. He has a very good body construction, physically strong and under professional training he has a lot of reserve to develop.” Q: What is your motivation for the London Olympics? A: First of all I must grab the chance to enter the Games. I suppose due to my rapid recent progress; my 12th position achieved in Beijing will not be difficult to surpass. In 2008 As I remember at that time I was very nervous and as a result I had only one successful attempt in snatch and one, namely the very last one, in clean and jerk. I wish those nerve-racking moments never return. Our minimum aim for London is to be ranked among the best six, but the final dream is a podium position occupied. Q: What support can you expect from your family? A: My father is close to 70 but still works as a farmer everyday. He wants me to stop training and help him with his job. He wants even to pay me more than I can earn as a lifter. We have a big family with ten children, six boys and four girls. I myself have two daughters. The first one is called Pescara to remember my first victory at the Mediterranean Games in Pescara in 2009. She was born at that time. Our other daughter is five months old. Lucky she was not born during the time of the London Games. Q: How did you respond to your father? Will you stop training if your dream, to win a medal, will come true? A: No I am not ready yet to stop weightlifting. I am still hungry for further

The lead changed ten times

Memorable Moment by Jim Schmitz I didn’t have just one memorable moment, I had several. That’s the reason why I attend the World Championships every year. My first memorable moment was when I saw this lifter from Australia, Malek Chamoun 85 kg bodyweight category, being guided out to the platform by his coach. I thought that’s odd, why is the coach doing that as coaches aren’t allowed on the stage. Then someone told me he is blind. I thought “Wow”, that’s incredible and it was. He snatched 135 kg on his first attempt then missed 140 kg twice. He got himself in trouble on his clean and jerks, missing the jerk with 170 kg twice before making it on his third attempt. Let me tell you this is a courageous, determined young man. He totaled 305 kg for the 31st place, but what an inspiration. My next memorable moment was the incredible competition between the two Russian lifters Khadzimurat Akkaev and Dmitry Klokov in the 105 kg bodyweight category. What a battle! Klokov is heavier, 104.6 kg to 104.44 kg, opens with 187 kg, Akkaev opens with 190 kg, Klokov does 192 kg, Akkaev does 195 kg, Klokov now does 196 kg, Akkaev then does 198 kg. These were six absolutely beautiful perfect snatches. Klokov opens the Clean and Jerks with 220 kg followed by Akkaev with 222 kg. Now competition strategy enters into their battle, trying to force the other into taking too much or the wrong weight. Klokov does 225 kg, Akkaev is now behind by one kilo, but instead of just trying to stay ahead he jumps to 228 kg, which he makes forcing Klokov to take a big jump. Klokov only needs 231 kg to take the lead, but he must feel he needs every kilo so he takes and makes 232 kg to take the lead back with a 428 kg in the Total to Akkaev’s 426 kg. This means Akkaev must also take and make the 232 kg in order to win, well he did it. Just a fantastic competition, one where you would have seen if they had one more attempts each. The lead changed ten times and no misses, this was textbook lifting. Every World Championships is extremely memorable to me, I could go on and on and that’s why I haven’t missed one since 1976. By Jim Schmitz

Skeleton World Champion Uhlaender heads to weightlifting Olympic trials

28 years old Katie Uhlaender (USA), a two-time Olympian and two-time World Cup champion won the women's skeleton race at the World Championships in Lake Placid (USA) this weekend. Uhlaender, of Breckenridge, Colorado, is not just a star of winter. She has to dominate at a high class level in two different sports at a time. In a week, she heads to the Olympic weightlifting trials, looking to compete in London this summer. Uhlaender will head to the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team trials in Columbus, Ohio, next weekend. She will vie for one of just two spots in the 58 kg bodyweight category. "Many people have asked how it is, training for two sports. For me it's just something I decided to do. It makes no logical sense, especially after having so many injuries, but I saw an opportunity to do something extraordinary. Something that inspired me, and I hope in turn will inspire others." From Katie Uhlaender's

Baranyai never collapses

12,162,110… this figure is actually two million more than Hungary’s total population. But that is just how many clicks the Youtube video of the Weightlifting Accident of Hungarian János Baranyai at the 2008 Beijing Olympics has at the moment. There must be numerous other videos that have been watched more than a million times possibly over 20 million. But this tragic incident of János Baranyai saw him rise to become one of the most famous Hungarian athletes ever in sporting history. His first Olympics ended in agony when he dislocated his right elbow in the snatch competition. Many might have thought he would not return to weightlifting. But he did! In 2010,he took part in the European Championships, and began dreaming of the next Olympic games – London 2012. So for a famous sportsman like him preparing for the biggest sporting fiesta-the Olympics, after such an unpleasant incident and a remarkable comeback to the sport-he must have it all as he prepares for the games. But you are totally wrong! In January, 2011 when Baranyai started preparing for the European Championships his best bet was his own garage. “My club didn’t pay the dues, so that I couldn’t use the gym. So I transformed my garage into a gym. It was supposed to be a temporary solution, but it became a long-term one. I did all my trainings before the European Champs in that garage.” It was surprising that he actually managed a fifth place finish in Kazan. In clean and jerk he missed the podium by a whisker ranking fourth but still managed to break a ten-year old national record. It makes you wonder, what would have managed had he all the equipment and facilities at his disposal? So does he…. “I think the podium in one of the major events is not that far for me. If I could prepare without any financial worries, I could probably win a medal,” he noted. Clearly it could be more difficult for him to access the proper conditions than attain the Olympic gold. At the moment Baranyai does not have any job, even a sporting job, he is actually unemployed. He gets some support from the federation, but it’s still far from a normal athlete’s life. “I stay at home, I live with my family in Orosháza. I think without my parents’ support I would not be able to go on.” But he does so far, and he really wants to qualify for the London Olympics, despite the bad memories of the last Games. “It was still one of the greatest experience in my life!” He does not lose his sense of humour and his positive way of thinking, just to show that if he misses the 2012 Games he will not collapse. “I’ll go for Rio 2016 then!” he cuts in, hoping that instead of being famous by an injury he can get known for his performance. Bence Mohay

Oman’s Suhail al Kulaibi walks and lifts his way to glory

The path to glory for Suhail al Kulaibi, Oman’s first weightlifter to win gold at the Arab Games in Doha in December 2011 has not been easy. The daily walk of nearly 10km to reach the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex gymnasium for training from his house in Muscat, capital of Sultanate of Oman, are still afresh in his memories for the 28 year old. “My love affair with the sport began in 1999 when I used to accompany my brother to the stadium for his training sessions. I was thin boy with a weight of 45kg those days. But I picked up the sport quickly as I found a good mentor and coach in Rushdie Wahba, an Egyptian, who had come to Oman as a physical fitness trainer,” remembered Suhail. “I started with powerlifting but soon moved to weightlifting and in 2002 I got my first breakthrough with the national team when I participated at the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) championships. [The competition features players from six GCC nations- Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait]. I picked up six medals, which included two silver and bronze medals in junior and senior 56kg category,” said Suhail. However, it was the performance (one silver and two bronze) in Arab weightlifting championships in Syria 2003 that made the Oman weightlifting committee take note of him and he was provided an official transport for training. Till then it was walking or hitch hiking on friend’s car to attend training. The lifter, who now works in Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO), owes a lot of his success to Rushdie Wahba, who left Oman in 2009. “He was my guide, coach and a friend. I learned a lot from him not only in the sport but also how to lead a disciplined life,” Suhail said. With a large family to support, Suhail skipped a government scholarship offer to go to college and picked up a job in 2006 before moving to RAFO in 2008. The lifter continued to climb up the ladder of success and won three gold medals at the Arab championships in Jordan (2009) and GCC championships in Bahrain (2010). A delay in nominating him from Oman for the world championships in France last year deprived him a platform to showcase his potential at the world stage but he turned the disappointment into joy when he claimed the first gold medal for Oman at the Arab Games in weightlifting. Suhail credits his recent success to coach Hossein Tavakkoli. The Iranian, who won gold in the men's 105kg class at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has been training Oman's weightlifters over the last three months. “He is a true professional. He is an experienced lifter and also understands us well. He motivates us a lot and has helped us set new personal and national records. When I lifted the weights in Doha to win the gold in clean and jerk (133kg) and snatch (110), I myself couldn’t believe but the coach had faith in me. I am now aiming to qualify for the London Olympics,” he said. Suhail hopes to take part in the Asian championships in South Korea in March and achieve the mark to be on board for London. “We are training daily six hours and I hope to make it to London. My aim is to achieve a medal at Asian and world championships and if backed properly and given the needed exposure, I believe I can do it.” In his leisure time, Suhail, who is married and has two daughters, relaxes by going for a swim or reading books. Ashok Purohit, Sports Editor, Muscat

Salimi’s new world record and my shaking hands

Moment of the Year by Mohammad Reza Akhoundi The most memorable moment of 2011 for me as a journalist was when Behdad Salimi set new world record in snatch, and I had to write this great moment with my shaking hands in order to send it to the Iranian media outlets. During Paris Championships 2011, I had to send many reports to several newspapers and news agencies inside Iran, as the weightlifting competitions are very important for the Iranian people. Meanwhile as there was no photographer from Iran I was also responsible for taking photos. This had made my work more complicated, and in the competitions in which the Iranian weightlifters won medals, the situation was very hard for me. On the final day of championships when Behdad Salimi was competiting , we were aware that he wanted to break the world record in snatch. Rather than writing the reports, I took my camera and went to the photographers' stand. When Behdad came to the podium for the third time and set new record, I was so excited that could not even take a good photo. As I was rushed to send this very great report to Iran I went back to press tribune thinking about my not accurate photos. At the same time I missed a very beautiful scene, when Behdad sat on the barbell cheering with the audience for his remarkable victory and then embraced Hussein Rezazadeh, Iranian icon formerly holding the snatch record. I was so disappointed for losing the scene. Although my excitement just continued and my shaking hands did not allow me to write the reports quickly, I was proud to have witnessed the most memorable moment in the history of Iran’s sport. Mohammad Reza Akhoundi Senior Editor of Sport Group at Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA)