Awesome. Matthias Steiner competes for Germany as an Olympic weightlifter and won the gold medal in the super heavyweight category at the Beijing Olympics. But he wasn't supposed to win, and until the very last lift of the night, it didn't look like he would.
At the beginning of 2008, the favorite to win the super heavyweight category was Iran's super strong, and immensely fat, Hossein Rezazadeh, but Hossein Rezazadeh was forced to retire by his physician (read: gynecologist) citing hand injuries and high blood pressure. High blood pressure?...Unequivocally, not awesome. This left the super heavyweight division wide open.
Hossein Rezazadeh
For the Win
Steiner, who lost his wife in a car accident in 2007, was considered to be a contender for a medal, but with the recent loss of his wife, and the fact he has diabetes, it didn't seem like that medal would be a gold one. At the end of the snatch portion of the tournament, Steiner was in fourth place after missing his last snatch. It didn't appear he would even get the bronze. The lifters begin the clean and jerk. Steiner misses his first two attempts. You only get three attempts, and if you miss all three, then you are disqualified. Things are not looking awesome for Steiner.
Meanwhile the other competitors keep setting the weight higher and completing their lifts. It comes down to Steiner, in his last lift, which is also the last lift of the super heavyweight category. In order to medal, he needs to increase the weight on the bar, beyond the amount that he previously missed. Weightlifters generally increase amounts between 2kg, 4kg, or 6kg. He increases the weight by 10 kg. If he completes the lift, he wins the gold, but he hadn't completed a clean and jerk yet that night, and the weight on the bar was well beyond his personal best.
He does it, and he wins. When he receives his gold medal, he carries a picture of his late wife with him onto the platform.
Friday, July 27, 2012
ReplyDeleteThe above story indicates Matthias Steiner had missed his first two C & J attempts. However, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weightlifting_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_%2B105_kg , he only missed his first C & J attempt and was successful on his 2nd & 3rd attempts. Looks like the article should be revised, even though it's 2-1/2 years old now.