Olympic Weightlifting

[Guest guest]

I second 's opinion on Olympic Weightlifting. I started out in this when I

was a kid because as a young boy I thought it was the most athletic expression

of strength I had ever seen. After nearly forty years as a power lifter I still

feel the same about Olympic Lifting.

In my opinion the reasons we have never been really competitive in the sport

are pretty basic. First Olympic lifting requires a coach. Say what you want

but most people need a coach to learn the lifts especially if you start as an

adult. Second comes the hesitance of training facilities both in schools and

other training areas to teach or allow training for the sport. I believe this

is because of the liability involved in the sport. Let's face it throwing

weight over your head that can crush you is dangerous. Third and finally is the

lack of physical payoff in the sport. Power lifting (to some extent) and body

building provide lifters with the type of physiques that have become popular

today except for the behemoths in the upper weight classes of power lifting.

Olympic lifters often have exaggerated development in the lower body while the

upper body often appears much less developed. This last reason is not so much

today. One only has to look at the trim and muscular physiques of some of the

heavy weights in the current Olympics to see that they have not neglected their

upper torsos.

I'm sure that the lack of popularity in this country for this sport has many

other reasons but it saddens me every Olympics to see these fine athletes on the

podium without one competitive American. Indeed I wish we could find a way to

remedy this. A good start would be to implement training in the middle schools

and high schools through College. Secondly, would be to implement this training

in gyms and fitness centers across the United States. A well known gym chain

like Golds or 24 hour fitness could go a long way in promoting the popularity of

this sport. We need to make a National commitment to make sure in the coming

years that a few Americans bring home medals in this great sport. Yes, I know

the chances of that happening are very slim but one can hope.

Eddie White

Blue Springs, Mo