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U.S. Olympic Committee Media Advisory

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August 21, 2004

Americans Have Great Lifts

ATHENS, Greece--Two Americans competed in weightlifting at the Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall on Saturday. Oscar Chaplin, III (Savannah, Ga.) placed 10th in the men’s 85kg division. Cheryl Haworth (Savannah, Ga.) placed 6th in the women’s +75kg division.

Chaplin lifted 160.0kg in the snatch, a personal best, and 190.0kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 350.0kg. “My goal was to improve my performance from Sydney.

I did that and I am very pleased. I stayed focused and made some good lifts. I am going to take a little time off from training and then start getting ready for Beijing in 2008".

Haworth, a bronze medal winner in Sydney, lifted 125kg in the snatch and 155kg in the clean and jerk, which equaled her personal best, for a total of 280.0kg. On the first lift of the snatch, Haworth felt a sharp pain in her left elbow. She had surgery on that elbow less than a year ago. Rather than risk permanent damage, she skipped the next two attempts and focused her energies on the clean and jerk.

“I am a little disappointed because I was feeling really strong coming into the competition. The tweak in my elbow was very painful and forced me to change plans after I heard crunching in the ligaments. I didn’t want to be put in a position of not finishing, so I skipped the next two lifts and composed myself for the clean and jerk. The most important factor for me was to finish, get a total and get ranked. My elbow has been feeling great and was the last thing on my mind. After I heard the pop, we decided to be conservative rather than risking permanent damage. I have a lot of lifting left in my career and now I am going to turn my sights to the Olympics in Beijing.”

“They both had outstanding performances,” said weightlifting Olympic team leader, Leo Totten.

Shane Hamman (Mustang, Okla.) will be the last American to lift on Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 8:00 p.m. in the men’s +105kg division.

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