Taiwanese weightlifter Lu Ying-chi (盧映錡) grabbed the nation’s second bronze at the Beijing Olympics in the women’s 63kg class category yesterday, giving teammates and fans a boost after poor performances by the nation’s archers and softballers earlier in the day.
Lu lifted 98kg, 102kg and 104kg in the snatch and 127kg in the clean and jerk to take third. Two failed attempts at 130kg left her with a total of 231kg, 3kg ahead of Canadian Christine Girard after South Korean Kim Sook-yung failed in a final lift to overhaul Lu’s total.
Pak Hyon-suk of North Korea took the gold and Nekrassova Irina of Kazakhstan took the silver, though Lu came close to stealing silver when the North Korean left it to the last lift of the night to register a score on the clean and jerk.
PHOTO: EPA
Taiwan’s first bronze was also in weightlifting: Chen Wei-ling (陳葦綾) took bronze in the women’s 48kg class category on Saturday.
Lu, 23, from Pingtung, was champion in the 75kg class at the 2005 National Athletic Games and came 10th in the 69kg class at the 2003 Royal World Weightlifting Championships. She also qualified for the Sydney and Athens Olympics.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) yesterday extended congratulations to Lu.
Lu’s family was ecstatic at the result. SET TV showed family members lighting firecrackers and displaying other medals that Lu had won in her sports career.
Pak’s gold medal was North Korea’s first women’s weightlifting gold since Olympic competition began for the event in 2000.
Barely cracking a smile, the 23-year-old Pak seemed more relieved than happy.
“I am overjoyed by the fact that I have brought joy to our dear general,” a stone-faced Pak said through a translator, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
“I failed the first and second attempt. However, when I was about to do my third attempt, I kept in my head the thought that my dear general’s eyes will be upon me,” Pak said. “And that thought by itself was great encouragement, and that’s how I managed to lift the last weight.”
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
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