Rio de Janeiro – Sara Robles won bronze for the United States in Rio in the women’s over-75-kilogram category. On Sunday, history was written. Sara Robles victory is the first medal for team USA since 2000. Meng Suping from China won gold and North Korea’s Kim Kuk Hyang got the second place.
Robles lifted 126 kg in the snatch and 160 kg in the clean and jerk. A total of 268 kg for the American athlete. Robles went six to six in her lifts. She first lifted 118 kg and then 126 in the snatch, a personal record. And in the clean and jerk, she lifted 151 kg, 155 and then another personal record of 160 kg.
Team USA website reports that Robles said that she had a perfect day. She believed she was the only person competing against herself, her fears and her body. Robles stated that she felt great after she lifted and now she feels like an Olympic champion. Robles confessed being lost in her moment.
Before Sarah lifted the 160 kg, she felt pain in her upper back. But she had to endure it and pushed herself to do the 160 to get the chance to win a medal.
Robles’ coach, Tim Swords, encourage the athlete before the big moment. He said to her that if she wanted a medal, that was her moment. Swords told Robles that those 5 seconds would change her life. If she managed to do it, she had to bring it and go for it.
And Robles did it and won the first U.S. medal in 16 years. After she had succeeded, Robles sank on her knees and roar of happiness.
The last medals won in weightlifting by the U.S. happened in Sydney 2000, when the women’s events debuted. Tara Nott earned a gold medal in women’s flyweight, and Cheryl Haworth won bronze in super heavyweight, just like Robles in Rio 2016. The last U.S. men’s medals in this sport were in 1984.
Meng Suping: The gold medal in +75 kg and the fifth successive top place in China’s history
Meng Suping won China’s fifth gold medal on Sunday after she lifted more than 300 kg for the first time in her life. Meng lifted 130 kg in the snatch and 177 in the clean and jerk, a total of 307 kg for the Chinese athlete.
What is interesting is that Meng Suping is a last-minute selection for the Rio Olympics. Hou Zhihui was going to represent her country at the games, but she had a knee injury. She thought she had recovered in a pre-Games training camp in Sao Paulo, but Wang Guoxin, China’s head coach of the women’s team, decided that she was not prepared and called Suping.
Meng Suping stated that she was training in China when she was told that she was selected. Suping said that it was a personal challenge for her, Reuters reported. She had a lot of pressure because the team had won in the past Olympics, but Meng considered that it was her duty to perform well for her country, and she did it.
Source: Team USA