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Melanie Roach 12th at 2007 World Weightlifting Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand
By Cecil Bleiker // U.S. Olympic Committee // September 24, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the conclusion of the women’s 53kg weight class today at the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Melanie Roach (Bonney Lake, Wash.) produced the top USA performance thus far with a 12th place finish. Building from her bronze medal performance at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Roach made all six of her lifts for a total of 189kg (79kg in the snatch and 110kg in the clean and jerk).
The strength of Team USA has yet to lift as there are still 10 athletes to go.
Besides Roach’s 12th place finish, Team USA has seen Stacey Suyama (Torrance, Calif.) place 24th in the women’s 48kg weight class, Henry Brower (Bloomingdale, Ga.) finish 44th in the men’s 69kg weight class followed by Phil “Jake” Johnson (Saint John, Ind.) in 51st place also in the men’s 69kg weight class thus far in the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships.
For the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships, the United States is represented by a full team of 15 (seven women and eight men). The World Championships are being in Chang Mai, Thailand, September 17-26. This is the second and final 2008 Olympic Games Qualifying event. The 2007 World Championships constitutes approximately two-thirds of the Olympic qualification criteria for country team size. The 2006 World Weightlifting Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic were the first portion of the Olympic Qualification formula (one-third of the formula).
The 2007 USA Weightlifting National Championships served as the primary qualifier for the 2007 USA Weightlifting World Championships Team. USA Weightlifting hosted the U.S. World Championships Team Secondary Qualifying event, March 2, 2007 in Columbus, Ohio. This event allowed athletes to post an initial mark staking their claim for a spot on the 2007 World Championships Team. Following these two qualifying events, the 2007 USA Weightlifting World Championships Team is as follows:
2007 USA Weightlifting World Championships Team
Women
Cheryl Haworth (Savannah, Ga., Colorado Springs, Colo.), 75+kg Weight Class
Natalie Woolfolk (Arnold, Md./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 63kg Weight Class
Melanie Roach (Bonney Lake, Wash.), 53kg Weight Class
Doreen Fullhart (Lisco, Neb./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 75kg Weight Class
Emmy Vargas (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 75+kg Weight Class
Stacey Suyama (Torrance, Calif.), 48kg Weight Class
Carissa Gump (Essex Junction, Vt./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 63kg Weight Class
Men
Kendrick Farris (Shreveport, La.), 85kg Weight Class
Casey Burgener (Bonsall, Calif./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 105+kg Weight Class
Chad Vaughn (Konawa, Okla./Norman, Okla.), 77kg Weight Class
Phil “Jake” Johnson (Saint John, Ind.), 69kg Weight Class
Henry Brower (Bloomingdale, Ga.), 69kg Weight Class
Matt Bruce (Baton Rouge, La.), 77kg Weight Class
Cody Gibbs (Shreveport, La.), 105kg Weight Class
Zach Schluender (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 105+Weight Class
Women’s Head Coach: Dennis Snethen (St. Joseph, Mo.)
Women’s Assistant Coach: Bob Morris (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Men’s Head Coach: Roger Nielsen (Arlington Heights, Ill.)
Men’s Assistant Coach: Kyle Pierce (Shreveport, La.)
Team Leader: Frank Eksten (Crown Point, Ind.)
For complete detailed schedule and results please visit www.iwf.net, the official website of the International Weightlifting Federation.
For more information, please contact Cecil Bleiker, USOC Manager of NGB Media Services in the USOC Media & Public Relations Division at 719-866-4608. This press release is also available on the USOC’s media specific website at www.usocpressbox.org.
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