We'd like to thank USAW and Women Talk Sports for including our blog on their websites. Be sure to check them out by clicking on their banners.
Results
Name/weight class/placing/snatch/clean and jerk/total
* denotes personal records
Kelly Rexroad-Williams 48 kgs 17th place 71/84/155
-Kelly's lifts have been very consistent lately. She hit 72 and 87 at Pan Ams in May
Amanda Sandoval 58 kgs 15th place 86*/109*/195*
-After a disappointing performance at Pan Ams, Amanda got PRs at the World Championships. Way to come back!
Natalie Burgener 63 kgs 12th place 96/114/210
-Natalie's first international competition since the Bejing Olympics, was quite a success going 4 for 6 and totaling 5 more kgs than she lifted at Nationals to qualify.
Danica Rue 69 kgs 19th place 90/115/205
-This was Danica's first international meet since 2005! Totaling just 1 kg under what it took her to qualify, she is making a great come back and doing a great job being consistent.
Rachel Crass 75 kgs 27th place 86/109 /195
-Competing injured; Rachel totaled 14 kgs less than it took her to qualify. At nationals she hit 92 and 117 to qualify for her first international competition since 2003 I believe.
Erin Wallace 75 kgs 18th place 98/117/215
-Erin went 4 for 6 only missing her last attempts, which would have been prs. She totaled 2 kgs less than her 6 for 6 pr performance at Nationals.
Sarah Robles 75+ kgs 10th place 111*/140/251*
-Pr snatch and total. 2nd highest total in US history.
The Hotel
The World Championships was held in Antalya, Turkey. The competitors stayed in two separate all inclusive resort hotels. We were located right on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. Our hotel had many pools and water slides, hammocks, a carnival area for children , a bar/club, restaurants, many beach activities including a boat tour some of our athletes did, nice rooms, all you can eat Turkish buffets, free wireless internet, and a couple English speaking television channels. The hotels were about 30 minute bus ride from the venue and airport. The dining area was quite spacious and we had a lot of cat friends roaming around. Our favorite one was "crusty cat" Haha. A lot of the food was some sort of sausage or meat ball, tons of bread (like a bakery full of bread every day,) desserts soaked in honey, a lot of dill, cheeses, fresh fruit, and sour yogurt was served with everything. Our least favorite yogurt thing was the "Yogurt Water" just sour yogurt mixed with water. It tasted like you were drinking cheese.
The People
The people in Turkey were very nice for the most part. The athletes, coaches, and officials were friendly. The bus drivers are aggressive drivers. We tried to get to the venue one day and a car was blocking our way and the driver opened the door and started yelling at the valets. The car was moved promptly and we were on our way. Natalie tried to take food out of the restaurant for after weigh-ins. This resulted in tears but, she was OK later. These were the only examples of poor behavior I've seen. The resort was full of people from all around the world. We saw many people in bikinis and speedos many of them probably should have worn something else haha.We noticed many people don't believe in lines. It was frustrating one of the athletes said, "Without lines; there's no order!" It sure felt like it. Overall, they were pleasant.
The Venue
The venue was an expo center. It had a really huge banner outside of the logo for worlds and inside it had a floral display of the world championship logo. It was pretty cool. The training hall had like 60 platforms. Imnot 100% sure. No one had to share a platform at anytime. We saw some pretty big lifts going on. The Iranian super was attempting 190 kgs snatches a few days before competing. They had a dining room for the athletes with hot meals in the middle of the day and cold drinks. The competition area was poorly set up and security was pretty loose. People without the proper credentials were all over the place. We had people that weren't athletes or staff members training in the training hall and Joe Schmoes in the media area and fancy seating. I think the spectating area was about half the size of worlds last year and even in the A sessions it didn't get full.
The Competition
The atmosphere wasn't as intense as I would have hoped but, the athletes were positive and brought their own energy which was good. It was ran smoothly and the loaders were fast and seemed excited about their jobs. The technical officials were very strict. Even though it was your turn, they wouldn't let you on the stage until your name was called. Which wasn't OK sometimes because the clock was already running, so you wasted time not chalking up. When teams found out that only 6 and 4 counted for points for Olympic slots, many countries didn't send teams. This helped out USA for placing. Some athletes who could have placed anywhere from sub 20th place to sub 30th place were placing in the teens and 20s. There were surprises, upsets, and lots of excitement when watching the competition. The World Championships is a great meet and always a great chance to learn, make new friends, and have fun.
Reflection on my training cycle and my competition
This training cycle has definitely been interesting. It was very emotional. This was my first cycle in two years not being a resident athlete. When I got back, I realized a lot of my friends I had made here either got married, moved, or I had lost touch with them. So I have to start all over again making friends. So it's been pretty lonely. One month I had a couple checks not come in on time and I wasn't able to plan properly with my finances so I was stressed out over that. Of course there are lots of little normal things to have to be conscious of like; getting on my own car insurance, grocery shopping, paying rent, etc. Normal people stuff. I have to drive everyday to the gym. It's not so bad. I actually like it because I feel like I'm making weightlifting a priority vs. doing it because I'm already there.
At some point I hurt my thumb and every time I had weight over my head It hurt really bad. I was afraid to catch anything so I missed a lot of weights or I caught everything forward to avoid pain. I have zero pain tolerance so this was a big deal to me. We trained a lot heavier here than I did at the OTC or NMU. It was exciting to get under heavy weights more often but, most of the time I didn't feel ready. So I wasn't really confident getting under them. I felt really beat up too. Mostly because I wasn't used to training this way. Not because anything was actually wrong. One day I actually felt good and hit PRs! I did a 113 and a 145. Normally I don't pr until I'm in competition so I was feeling pretty confident. I also rarely front squat and I hit a 175 which was a 10 kg pr. I power cleaned 130 which was a big pr. If you saw me at nationals, I power cleaned 120 so 10 kgs in 3 months was cool. Everything was going well and I had mentioned several times, "150 at Worlds Joe! 150!" I felt it. I knew it was in me. Our goal was to hit 150 at worlds.
By the time Worlds came around I was pretty emotionally exhausted. Of course I had the excitement of being at worlds and lifting heavy weights but other than that, I was pretty spent emotionally. Warming up for the snatch felt pretty good. If you know me or my training at all, you'll know, I always manage to find a way to miss at least one snatch. My first snatch is always very stressful because I usually miss it. (I think like 3 out of my competitions I have made my opening attempt.) Goal #1: Make my opener. I actually did! I made my second, then my third! I never make all my snatches. It was quite an accomplishment. I was thinking, "Sweet! I might actually have a chance to go 6 for 6!" Clean and Jerks are what I'm good at and even if I mess up I can usually pull something out.
I had a couple goofs in the back looping 65 horribly, stumbling around with 85, and getting chalk in the eye at 130! Most of my attempts were forward. Usually, once I'm on the platform I can fix little technical issues and my attempts are easy. Not the case at this competition. I did worse on the platform than I did in the back. I opened with almost my pr, 139 so I could do 139-145-148. I got stuck a little in the bottom then missed my jerk forward. The next attempt at 140; the clean was bad then I over jerked it and missed it behind. Panic set in. I've never missed my first two attempts. I kept telling myself "You gotta make this lift. You have to get USA points. Make this lift. Make this lift." I caught it horribly and jacked up my upper back pulling it back, then I pushed it forward but, I made it. I have never been so relieved! I usually never hear anything while I'm lifting but I managed to hear my coach say, "Fight Sarah! You're still in this!" I heard Collin yell, "Let's go Sarah!" I also heard someone from another country when I was recovering from my jerk, "Duro!" which roughly means "be strong or tight" something like that. It's always nice when people from other countries have good sportsmanship.
This training cycle taught me about how tough it is to be a full-time weightlifter. It's only going to get harder. Worlds gave me a taste of what's to come in 2012. Had I lifted what I was capable of in the clean and jerk; my total could have gotten me 5th or 6th place. Instead, I got 10th. I'm hungry for more.
Weightlifting has proven to me that I can do anything.
There's no such thing as impossible.
