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There are some interesting things in the article, but unfortunately, it seems that the author has some misconceptions regarding olympic weightlifting -

 

Yes, there are small countries that have incredible teams, but it isn't simply because they have better "technology" than we do. There are a host of reasons as to why this can be explained:

 

1. In countries outside the USA, potential olympians are scouted at a VERY young age from a broad spectrum of children that are screened athletically for natural ability to excel in sports. In the USA, unless you have a specific interest in a sport and pursue it at your choosing (or, your parent's choosing), there is little to persuade anyone to go into weightlifting as it is not a widely recognized and respected sport here, and second, there is no money in it. In some countries, children that are identified through screening to have potential for weightlifting will then be enrolled in special "athletics" schools where they will work on coordination, performance and increasing skill to improve their ability further. Some of these kids will have had years of daily training before they are out of high school, where American teenagers will typically only train in their off time between school and other distractions. Mind you, this will become a daily activity and a great focus intertwined with their education, whereas here in the USA children are not put to the same level and started on this path so young. Yes, it is a partial sacrifice of what it is to be a child of your own free doing in some ways, but that is part of how these kids grow to be champions at such an early age.

 

2. In other countries, weightlifting and being in the olympics is one of the highest honors one could have and potentially the difference between working a farm for the rest of your life or being a national hero and having far more potential for income after your career is complete. If you knew that this was your shot at fame and fortune or possibly poverty, wouldn't you train like your life depended on it!

 

3. Most olympic lifters in other countries have lives that revolve around their training, not the other way around. Most of the countries with successful lifters will train 5-6 days/week, 2-3 times per day - this is what they exist for, and the live to succeed in their activity. American olympic lifters do train extremely hard, but let's face it - we as Americans typically do not put forth the same effort as those in other countries that will fight to the death for the same thing. There's a lot of psychology involved in why we don't excel in weightlifting (one US coach went so far as to write an article recently calling all American athletes, specifically the US weightlifting team, "lazy"), and this has a great deal to do with our falling behind as well.

 

There are some intesting points in the article, but I do not agree that everything lies in the "secrets" that other countries possess. If that were the case, when the coach of the Romanian team started working in the USA we'd have picked up on these things and taken the lead again! Unfortunately we just don't put the same focus on olympic sport as most other nations do, and that's just the way things are. Who wants to be a heavyweight lifter for a medal when you can earn millions as a football player? There's a lot to consider, so I'm always leery of "secrets" that provide an advantage (even drug-related ones), because it really is quite complex as to why things work out as they do with comparing the USA to the rest of the weightlifting world!

 

Ryan

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One more point I forgot to make - sometimes, small countries "buy" experienced lifters from other countries to add to their teams. Qatar, for example, had been a country with literally nobody in medal contention for as long as they'd had a team, but they struck a deal with Bulgaria for a few of their exceptional lifters who were up-and-coming, and before you knew it they had some of the best in the business on their team. Suddenly, people were wondering why it was that a tiny country with no previous medal-winners had a team that was exceptional - in the end it was purely because of a deal made to get some quality talent into their country. Now you can see why some of these countries (primarily in the Middle East) have people of obviously much more western European appearance on their team roster. Add in name changes (such as Petar Tanev to Saleem Saeed Badr) and that's what goes on!

 

Ryan

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its not the soy michael - its the after affect of spending nearly two weeks in summer with me, topher and tarz, where we spent nearly all the time topless (and often dancing in public fountains in swimming shorts!)

 

dont think it has anything to do with soy

 

jonathan

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