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Korea Herald
Aug 6 2012
Weightlifter Jang finishes fourth in third Olympics
Outclassed by younger athletes, South Korean weightlifter Jang Mi-ran
fell well short of defending her gold medal in the women's heaviest
class Sunday at the London Olympics.
Jang finished fourth in the women's over-75-kilogram class, after
lifting 289ã?? with 125ã?? in snatch and 164ã?? in clean and jerk.
Zhou Lulu of China broke her own record for total weight with 333ã??,
with 146ã?? in snatch and 187ã?? in clean and jerk. Tatiana Kashirina of
Russia broke her own snatch world record twice en route to the silver
medal at 332kg. She cleared 151ã?? in snatch and 181ã?? in clean and jerk.
Hripsime Khurshudyan of Armenia, who is about 31ã?? lighter than Jang,
beat the South Korean by 5ã?? in total for the bronze medal.
With Zhou and Kashirina far ahead after snatch, the rest of the field
competed for bronze. Jang threw down the gauntlet first by lifting
164ã?? in her second clean and jerk attempt to get to 289ã?? total. Then
Khurshudyan, who finished snatch at 128ã??, cleared 166ã?? in her second
clean and jerk try to move past Jang.
After the Armenian's successful lift, Jang submitted 170ã?? for her
third and final try but dropped the barbell behind her head.
The 28-year-old grew emotional after what could have been her final Olympics.
"I am just lucky to have finished the competition without getting
hurt," Jang said with her eyes reddened. "I am worried that I've let
down people who have given me a lot of love and support, because I
didn't come near the records I set in Beijing."
In winning the gold four years ago, Jang smashed world records in each
of snatch, clean and jerk, and total weight with 140ã??, 186ã?? and 326ã??,
respectively.
In the four years since the last Olympics, Jang has been bothered by
nagging injuries and has been surpassed by the likes of Kashirina, 21,
and Zhou, 24. Kashirina, after winning silver Sunday, now owns the
three best snatch weights ever in her class.
Zhou is the owner of the total weight world mark with 333ã?? and shares
the clean and jerk mark with Jang at 187ã??.
Jang, who turns 29 in October, hasn't yet announced her retirement,
though she's long been expected to do so after London.
On Sunday, she declined to commit one way or the other.
"It's not something I can decide on my own," Jang said. "It's
premature at this point to talk about my future."
Jang has enjoyed one of the most decorated weightlifting careers that
includes, in addition to her gold from Beijing, an Olympic silver from
Athens, an Asian Game gold and four world championships. (Yonhap News)
http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud120806000207&cpv=0
Aug 6 2012
Weightlifter Jang finishes fourth in third Olympics
Outclassed by younger athletes, South Korean weightlifter Jang Mi-ran
fell well short of defending her gold medal in the women's heaviest
class Sunday at the London Olympics.
Jang finished fourth in the women's over-75-kilogram class, after
lifting 289ã?? with 125ã?? in snatch and 164ã?? in clean and jerk.
Zhou Lulu of China broke her own record for total weight with 333ã??,
with 146ã?? in snatch and 187ã?? in clean and jerk. Tatiana Kashirina of
Russia broke her own snatch world record twice en route to the silver
medal at 332kg. She cleared 151ã?? in snatch and 181ã?? in clean and jerk.
Hripsime Khurshudyan of Armenia, who is about 31ã?? lighter than Jang,
beat the South Korean by 5ã?? in total for the bronze medal.
With Zhou and Kashirina far ahead after snatch, the rest of the field
competed for bronze. Jang threw down the gauntlet first by lifting
164ã?? in her second clean and jerk attempt to get to 289ã?? total. Then
Khurshudyan, who finished snatch at 128ã??, cleared 166ã?? in her second
clean and jerk try to move past Jang.
After the Armenian's successful lift, Jang submitted 170ã?? for her
third and final try but dropped the barbell behind her head.
The 28-year-old grew emotional after what could have been her final Olympics.
"I am just lucky to have finished the competition without getting
hurt," Jang said with her eyes reddened. "I am worried that I've let
down people who have given me a lot of love and support, because I
didn't come near the records I set in Beijing."
In winning the gold four years ago, Jang smashed world records in each
of snatch, clean and jerk, and total weight with 140ã??, 186ã?? and 326ã??,
respectively.
In the four years since the last Olympics, Jang has been bothered by
nagging injuries and has been surpassed by the likes of Kashirina, 21,
and Zhou, 24. Kashirina, after winning silver Sunday, now owns the
three best snatch weights ever in her class.
Zhou is the owner of the total weight world mark with 333ã?? and shares
the clean and jerk mark with Jang at 187ã??.
Jang, who turns 29 in October, hasn't yet announced her retirement,
though she's long been expected to do so after London.
On Sunday, she declined to commit one way or the other.
"It's not something I can decide on my own," Jang said. "It's
premature at this point to talk about my future."
Jang has enjoyed one of the most decorated weightlifting careers that
includes, in addition to her gold from Beijing, an Olympic silver from
Athens, an Asian Game gold and four world championships. (Yonhap News)
http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud120806000207&cpv=0