Janos Baranyai of Hungary dislocated his elbow at the Beijing Olympic Weightlifting competition. He was on is 3rd lift with 148 kg (325.6 lbs). That had to hurt!

With just a day before the 2008 Olympics begin in Beijing, we’ve learned that Casey Burgener, who earned the #3 slot for the US men’s team will not be competing. Casey called his parents early this morning from Beijing informing them he will not be competing. Casey’s fate apparently was decided by the President of the IWF, Dr. Tamas Ajan, at a Technical Meeting Thursday morning.

Here is a press release from over a month ago that did not go out due to possible “negative publicity”:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 4 2008

Casey Burgener thought he had achieved his lifelong ambition of becoming an Olympic athlete, qualifying for the US Olympic Weightlifting Team by lifting 180 kilos (396 lbs) in the snatch and 224 kilos (492 lbs) in the clean and jerk, the two competition lifts in Olympic Weightlifting, for a total of 404 kilos (888 lbs.).
Casey is from Bonsall in North San Diego County and graduated from Rancho Buena Vista High School where his father and coach, Mike, is a PE teacher and strength coach. Casey Burgener is the 105 plus kilogram (super heavyweight) weightlifter for the US Men’s National Weightlifting Team. A two time National Champion, ‘06, ‘07, weighing in at just 275 lbs, Casey should be representing the U.S. in the heaviest weight class in Olympic Weightlifting, competing against Weightlifters that out weigh him by as much as 100 lbs. Casey thought he would be competing along with team mate and fiance Natalie Woolfolk who also qualified for the Womens Olympic Weightlifting Team.

This, from Greg Everett:

“This is an ongoing issue. Basically we were told the men were competing for 3 slots at trials. Casey earned that 3rd slot. Afterward, that 3rd spot was never made official. So USAW, IWF, IOC and OSOC are all arguing about what’s going on, and it’s bull**** because Casey lifted to make a total for that 3rd position; had we known there were only 2, his strategy at trials may have been different. We’re still hoping it gets worked out, particularly considering all the openings after the entire Bulgarian and Greek teams getting booted, and Mutlu and Rezazadeh withdrawing.”

It appears Greg thinks there is some hope for Casey to compete.

From a post of Casey’s father, Mike Burgener:

We are praying casey gets to lift. as has been indicated our beef is with the iwf that told us we have 3 slots. casey’s lifts were predicated on going after the 3rd slot hence note that he did not take a 3rd clean and jerk…..there was no need as he won the 3rd slot and became a member of the olympic team. if casey does not get to lift then he has been denied an opportunity then to make the team. we are betting that with all the drop outs that casey will lift. he is being taken to china, he has his visa, he is being outfitted, mrs b and i are going……HE IS LIFTING!!! come on say it with me: HE IS LIFTING!!! over and over again!!!!

So there is optimism and hope that Casey will get to compete. We’ll wait and see. It ain’t over ’til it’s over!

Earlier, we read this from AFP:

Iran’s double Olympic gold medallist Hossein Rezazadeh has pulled out of the 2008 Games because he was not in good enough shape to defend his title, a weightlifting official said.

Well maybe, but I think the Mad Mullahs got wind Rezazadeh may have wanted to defect from Iran, (and who wouldn’t)? He did turn down offers for a change in nationality from Turkey and Greece after 2004. In any case, it sounds like the mullahs had something to do with this.  Just my opine, though!

Back in June, the entire freakin’ Bulgarian weightlifting team was pulled from the Games for doping! Well, what a surprise! Steroids? Who knew?

Oh, and did I mention 11 Greek lifters tested positive for the Cheater Juice. The Greeks now are sending only 4 lifters.

As Jim Rome would say, “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying”. Of course, if you get caught, you suffer the consequences.

After getting rid of the first round of cheaters, it would be cruel irony if Casey, (drug-free, by the way) does not get to compete as he deserves, but I hope he does. 

The Olympics have become a farce.

If you have ever watched your favorite sporting event with the sound turned down, there is a good chance one of these schmoes was behind the microphone.

And the Worst of the worst, according to Maxim magazine, is Chris Berman. “He…could…go…all…the…waaaay” Here is a “Boomer” rant.

read more | digg story

Every now and then in the world of Hacker Athletics* comes around an event that is just too good to pass by. I have had several of these in my lifetime like doing my first marathon with less than 6 months of training-none of it long distance. I was asked, and did, a 1000 meter inline skate race around the Dominguez Hills velodrome during a cycling event. I have, on a whim, raced in a couple 100+ mile inline races; Fresno to Bakersfield at 138 miles and from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the beach in Santa Cruz, 100 miles away. I would also have to include my Olympic style lifting efforts proudly as Hacker even though I have not yet competed in the sport.

(I was going to include Crossfit in my hacker athletic career but it really needs to be considered a recognized sport in order to pass the muster. As my friend Mike pointed out, to paraphrase, air squats are not considered a sport).

The 2008 United Scottish Society Highland Games at Costa Mesa was one of those Hacker Athletic events for me. Please keep in mind, there is no disrespect to the other participants or the games themselves. I am the Hacker, but more about that later.

The Scottish Heavy Athletics is part of the Scottish competitions called the Highland Games. If you don’t know much about the Highland Games you probably have at least seen the Caber Toss.

When my three chances to heave the caber came, that missile never left the launch pad. I have nothing to add to that. Mark that as a “scratch”. Speaking of scratch, the first event of the day was called the Heavy Hammer. I scratched that too, by fouling on all three attempts. One foul got style points for the way I bounced off my head. Allow me to show you what the Heavy Hammer looks like when it is done right. It is really a thing of beauty.

We enjoyed other challenging events including a couple types of stone tosses with what is called a Braemer Stone. These are of difference weights and different rules for throwing them, but both are measured for distance.

Other events included Weight Over Bar for height, the Heavy Hammer, the Light Hammer, the Light
Weight For distance and of course the main attraction, at least for the spectators, the Caber Toss.

Mike Covert covers these events well, with pictures at Clandestine Experience. I also have some pictures of our fellow Highlanders as well as some Highland games exclusive video.

Basically, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but had a helluva good time doing it with a great bunch of Group C guys. (I would say Class C guys but for some reason that just doesn’t sound right. Some of those were from my gym, Met-Rx, including Mike Covert, pro strongman athlete, Scott “Circus Boy” Brengel and two of his proteges, Pete Danahy and Kevin. Another cool dude, Peter, while new to Met-Rx is an experienced Highland Games competitor and a heck of a nice guy besides. There were three 17 year old kids, two over 6′5″ and 300# and the other, a high school thrower. There were a couple other quiet guys that just went about their business rather well. I got plenty of help from these guys and the event officials, Nathan and TJ who were very generous with their time and tips.

Additional support, lunch and camera work game from Valerie, her sister and niece and Mike’s girl, Torri, the kettlebell painter.

As I write this, I am still gassed. Would I do this again? Sure. It IS a big man’s sport, but one of the two things that impressed me the most about the Games is the technical aspect of each event. Tricky stuff. The other, I already alluded to and that is the camaraderie in our group. Everyone gave and got a lot of support and we all had a great time.

Peter, Mike, Mark & Pete

*More on Hacker Athletics in another post.

Melanie Roach qualified Saturday as the top US female on a team of 4 women going to Beijing to compete in the Summer Olympics. Rounding out the rest of the US womens’ team are Carissa Gump, Natalie Woolfolk and third time Olympian, Cheryl Haworth.

The US Olympic Weightlifting Trials were held Saturday in Atlanta.

On the men’s side, there are three qualifiers including Mike Burgener’s son Casey, who at the trials on Saturday snatched 180 kilos (396#) and clean and jerked 224 kilos (492.8#) for a 404 kilo (880.8#) total. The top rated US lifter is Kendrick Farris, followed by Chad Vaughn.

More on Casey, from the AP story.

Farris and Vaughn dominated the men’s competition, with the main battle for the final spot. Burgener took it with a clean and jerk of 493 pounds on his next-to-last attempt. He fell over backward on the stage in jubilation.

“It was just a surge of energy,” Burgener said. “I can’t put it into words. It was like every surge of emotion you can feel all coming down at once.”

Congratulations, Casey, Melanie and the rest of the US team.

A Barbarian Blogroll Plug for Jeff at liftkettlebells.com who has some great new content, including video at his new and growing kettlebell-dedicated site.

You can find out who Kettlebell Kate is and what the SovietForce kettlebell gym is all about, (hopefully those guys know the Cold War is over)! Both of those sites have some good video up as well.

Jeff will also will fill you in on the best footwear for KB training and where the kettlebell gyms around the world can be found. This looks to be a work in progress so if you know of some gyms not listed, I am sure he would appreciate the tip.

Besides liftkettlebells’ growing collection of helpful kettlebell videos, you can listen to a detailed interview of kettlebell superfreak, Steve Cotter, linked to Super Trainer.

If you are new to kettlebell lifting as many of Val’s Kettlebells customers are, then this is a great place to get started. Of course, if you have logged a little more “swing time”, there is plenty here for you too.

MarkFu gives two thumbs up!

Long after games are won and lost and scores forgotten, certain memories of how the game was played last forever. Here is a great example…

Hat Tips to Skip Hathaway and Kim Komando

Image via Wikipedia

Now this is interesting. The Scottish Highland Games are coming to the Orange County Fairgrounds on Memorial weekend, May 24th-25th. I have wanted to do this but have no idea how to do the events or anything. It does sound like a lot of fun though!

I’m not even a novice! I’ll have to see if I can find someone to get some quick training, so I know what to expect.

Excuse me while I go shop for a kilt!

While talking about Woopra in the previous post, I referred you to One Man’s Blog. There is some interesting stuff over there and when you consider his tagline, “specialization is for insects” you expect there will be variety. (Some Crossfitters also use that tagline to define the highly variable style of fitness training they do).

If you like a good brawl, and really, who doesn’t? What is considered by many to be the “best” (or worst, depending on perspective) hockey brawl in the history of the sport occurred in 1987 between the Junior National teams of Canada and the USSR on Czech ice. It looked like it would go nuclear. When the goalies throw down, it is ON! Take a look.

By the way, there are 2 Stanley Cup playoff games today.

I know why I seldom drink. I never liked the hangover. I have a hangover of a different type today…a football hangover. After watching a slo-mo train wreck for over three hours, interrupted only by a constant barrage of inane commercials, I am lamenting the demise of yet another playoff run by sloppy and poor play by the Green Bay Packers capped by a Brett Favre interception in overtime, in a near repeat of the now infamous “Fourth and twenty six” play and a Favre pick.

The Pack was a solid pick to advance to the Super Bowl, but the G-men from the Meadowlands had other ideas and played like they wanted it more and were thusly rewarded. If it sounds like I blame Brett, well not really. It was a team effort of errors.I’ll shake this off pretty fast though, but today, I get through the “hangover”.

So, my “Hangover WOD” started off by sets of

rope jumping, 100/100/116/158/120 and then 3 rounds of the Crossfit warm-up and the Burgener warm-up.

The main event was some practice with the snatch using a stick, an empty bar, and light weight at 60% of my last reported 1RM. 45/55/65/65/65.

The session went well and should be enough to shake off the remnants of my disappointment. Next begins the annual vigil of the Packer faithful waiting to find out if Brett Favre returns for another season. (I say Yes).

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