The 2006 World Weightlifting Championships will count a little less than half of the Olympic qualification criteria for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.  The number of athletes that the United States will qualify to enter into the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China will be determined by team placement at both the 2006 and 2007 World Weightlifting Championships.

Lance Frye (Moorestown, Va.), also competing in the men's 77kg weight class, finished in 36th place overall.  Frye posted a snatch of 140kg (34th place) and a clean and jerk of 170kg (34th place) for a total of 310kg (36th place).

Also competing today for the United States was Jackie Berube (58kg/Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Amanda Hubbard (58kg/Atlanta, Ga./Chandler, Ariz.) in the women's 58kg weight class.  Final results in this weight class were not yet known at the time of release.

Competition in the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships will continue tomorrow, Wednesday, October 4 with Team USA's Natalie Woolfolk (63kg/Arnold, Md./Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Teresa Gaume (69kg/St. Joseph, Mo.) taking the platform in the women's 63kg and 69kg weight categories, respectively.

Melanie Roach (Bonney Lake, Wash.) kicked things off for Team USA yesterday, October 2 with a 12th place finish in the women's 53kg weight class.  Roach posted a snatch of 76kg (16th place) and a clean and jerk of 103kg (13th place) for a total of 179.0kg (12th place).

The 2006 World Weightlifting Championships is being held in the Weightlifting Hall at the Parque Deportivo del Este in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  The site is familiar to two members of the USA Weightlifting Team as it is the same venue that hosted the 2003 Pan American Games Weightlifting competition.  Casey Burgener and Chad Vaughn were both members of the 2003 United States Pan American Games Team that competed in Santo Domingo.

The United States is represented by a full team of seven women and eight men at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships.

2006 USA Weightlifting World Championships Team
Listed in rank order of team qualification

Women's Team
Cheryl Haworth (Savannah, Ga./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 75+kg Weight Class
Natalie Woolfolk (Arnold, Md./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 63kg Weight Class
Jackie Berube (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 58kg Weight Class
Doreen Fullhart (Christiansburg, Va./ Colorado Springs, Colo.), 75kg Weight Class
Melanie Roach (Bonney Lake, Wash.), 53kg Weight Class
Amanda Hubbard (Atlanta, Ga./Chandler, Ariz.), 58kg Weight Class
Teresa Gaume (St. Joseph, Mo.), 69kg Weight Class

Women's Team Head Coach:  John Thrush (Sumner, Wash.)
Women's Team Assistant Coach:  Bob Morris (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Carissa Gump (Essex Junction, Vt./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 63kg Weight Class qualified for the team, but declined due to injury

Men's Team
Casey Burgener (Bonsall, Calif./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 105+kg Weight Class
Chad Vaughn (Konawa, Okla./Norman, Okla.), 77kg Weight Class
Lance Frye (Moorestown, Va.), 77kg Weight Class
Kendrick Farris (Shreveport, La.), 85kg Weight Class
Innocent Ukpong (Houston, Texas), 85kg Weight Class
Donald Shankle (Wichita Falls, Texas/Colorado Springs, Colo.), 105kg Weight Class
Jeff Wittmer (Florissant, Mo.), 94kg Weight Class
Anthony Martin (Savannah, Ga.), 94kg Weight Class

Men's Team Head Coach:  Leo Totten (Littletown, Pa.)
Men's Team Assistant Coach:  Paul Fleschler (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Robert Murphy (Sarasota, Fla./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 94kg Weight Class qualified for the team, but declined due to injury

2006 World Weightlifting Championships Schedule

Saturday, September 30, 2006
Men's 56kg Weight Class (Groups A,B and C) - No U.S. competitors
Men's 62kg Weight Class (Group C) - No U.S. competitors

Sunday, October 1, 2006
Men's 62kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - No U.S. competitors
Women's 48kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - No U.S. competitors
Men's 69kg Weight Class (Group A) - No U.S. competitors

Monday, October 2, 2006
Men's 69kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - No U.S. competitors
Women's 53kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - Melanie Roach (Bonney Lake, Wash. - 12th Place)
Men's 77kg Weight Class (Group C)

Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Men's 77kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - Lance Frye (Moorestown, Va. - 36th Place) and Chad Vaughn (Konawa, Okla./Norman, Okla. - 12th Place)
Women's 58kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - Jackie Berube (Colorado Springs, Colo. - TBD) and Amanda Hubbard (Atlanta, Ga./Chandler, Ariz. - TBD)
Women's 63kg and 69kg Weight Class (Group C)

Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Women's 63kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - Natalie Woolfolk (Arnold, Md./Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Women's 69kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - Teresa Gaume (St. Joseph, Mo.)
Men's 85kg Weight Class (Group C)

Thursday, October 5, 2006
Men's 85kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - Kendrick Farris (Shreveport, La.) and Innocent Ukpong (Houston, Texas)
Women's 75kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - Doreen Fullhart (Christiansburg, Va./ Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Men's 94kg Weight Class (Group C)

Friday, October 6, 2006
Men's 94kg Weight Class (Groups A and B) - Anthony Martin (Savannah, Ga.) and Jeff Wittmer (Florissant, Mo.)
Women's 75+kg Weight Class (Group B)
Men's 105kg Weight Class (Group B)
Men's 105+ Weight Class (Group B)

Saturday, October 7, 2006
Women's 75+kg Weight Class (Group A) - Cheryl Haworth (Savannah, Ga./Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Men's 105kg Weight Class (Group A) - Donald Shankle (Wichita Falls, Texas/Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Men's 105+ Weight Class (Group A) - Casey Burgener (Bonsall, Calif./Colorado Springs, Colo.)