[Hundreds of Iranians,
many of them living in England, came to cheer their hero. “Inshallah,” if God
is willing, they called out every time he approached the weights. Hundreds of
Iranian flags waved. Chants of “Behdad! Behdad!” followed each successful lift.]
By Barry Bearak
 |
Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Behdad Salimikordasiabi of Iran, who lifted 459 pounds in
the snatch
portion of the super-heavyweight event, won the gold medal. |
LONDON — The strongest man in
the world, if hoisting heavy barbells is the measure, is a 22-year-old Iranian
who Tuesday won the Olympic weight lifting gold medal among super-heavyweights,
hoisting 545 pounds above his head, more than the heft of a baby grand piano.
His name is Behdad
Salimikordasiabi, a 6-foot-6 tower of muscle who weighs 364 pounds. He was
before, and certainly is now, the biggest sports hero in his country.
“Everyone in the streets
of Iran are partying now,” he said through an interpreter. “This is a very
happy time. Everyone is proud.”
Hundreds of Iranians,
many of them living in England, came to cheer their hero. “Inshallah,” if God
is willing, they called out every time he approached the weights. Hundreds of
Iranian flags waved. Chants of “Behdad! Behdad!” followed each successful lift.
Many others in the crowd
had come to support Matthias Steiner, the German who won gold in 2008. But he
lost his balance on his second lift, falling down as he attempted to hoist 432
pounds.
The barbell hit him on
the neck, and the gasping crowd quickly became silent as Steiner rolled around
awkwardly with his legs pinned under the heavy bar. A plastic banner was placed
between him and the audience as he was helped to his feet. He left for
precautionary X-rays and later was said to be without serious injury.
“Of course, he was
disappointed,” said Michael Vesper of the German Olympic Committee. “He was not
happy with the situation.”
Salimikordasiabi, though
young, was the favorite. He already has been the Asian champion four times and
the world champion twice. He won the Asian title in 2010 despite entering the
competition with the swine flu, which caused
him to collapse from exhaustion during one lift.
In the last few days,
other lifters in the practice area stopped to gape at the Iranian. “I was in
awe seeing what he could do,” Damon Kelly of Australia said. “The man is
amazing.”
The weight lifting
competition consists of two events. First is the snatch, in which the athletes
have three attempts to lift as much weight as possible in one continuous
motion. Next is the clean and jerk, where the bar is first lifted to the chest
and then, after a pause, raised above the head, usually after a shift of the
feet for more leverage.
Salimikordasiabi holds
the world record in the snatch at 472 pounds. But he attempted only 459 pounds
Tuesday, the same as Ruslan Albegov of Russia. He seemed to be preserving his
strength.
Salimikordasiabi’s first
effort at the clean and jerk was 545 pounds, which gave him a combined total
that was unapproachable. Sajjad Anoushiravani Hamlabad of Iran won the silver
medal, with Albegov earning the bronze.
Salimikordasiabi was
entitled to two more attempts. The bar was loaded with 582 pounds, enough for a
world record in the clean and jerk, eclipsing the mark set by his mentor
Hossein Rezazadeh, who is president of the Iranian Weight Lifting Association.
The crowd of 6,000
stomped and clapped as he walked on the stage. He stood before the bar and
hunched his shoulders. Then he leaned down, placed his hands on the metal and
squatted low. He bellowed as he pulled up the bar, but managed to raise it only
a few feet.
The crowd expected
another effort. But Salimikordasiabi simply saluted them and called Hamlabad,
his teammate, to join him on stage. They hugged and then held up an Iranian
flag as the crowd cheered.
“We are so proud of this
man, I almost have no words to explain it,” said Dawud Tawakoli, an Iranian
handball referee. “He is the greatest sportsman in Iran, a star beyond what can
be imagined.”
The announcer at the
event said there was still time if Salimikordasiabi “wants to give it another
shot.” But he went backstage instead and wrapped a towel around his immense
shoulders.
Later, he said he had
“rested too long” in between lifts and had gotten cold. Besides, there would be
other times for world records.
“I’ve lifted more many
times in practice,” he said.
FROM MANIPUR TO LONDON, MARY KOM PUNCHES HER WAY TO A MEDAL
[Kom kept
boxing a secret from her family - until she won a state championship in 2000,
and everyone, including her parents, discovered what she had been up to. Her father
goaded her to give it up. Boxing is too dangerous, he told her. Members of her
clan disapproved. The boys in her hometown ridiculed her. She held out.]
By The New
York Times |
Dennis M. Sabangan/European Pressphoto Agency
M.C. Mary Kom, left, celebrates after defeating Maroua
Rahali
of Tunisia in the Women’s Flyweight (51kg) boxing quarterfinal
at the London Olympics 2012 on Monday.
|
Mary Kom, who for
years kept her passion for boxing a secret, has a chance on Wednesday to win a
rare Olympic gold medal for India when she faces Nicola Adams of
Britain.
Ms. Kom, a
five-time world champion, guaranteed herself at least a bronze medal when she
won the quarterfinal of the women's flyweight boxing event in London on Monday.
(The losers of the semifinals are each awarded a bronze.)
Ms. Kom's
chance for Olympic gold began in August 2009, when the International Olympic Committee announced that women's boxing would be
added at the 2012 London Olympics.
"This is my dream come true," Ms. Kom had told Somini Sengupta of The New York Times days after the announcement.
"This is my dream come true," Ms. Kom had told Somini Sengupta of The New York Times days after the announcement.
For the
boxer who was born Mangte Chungneijang Merykom, the journey from a small town
in India's northeastern state of Manipur to the Olympics in London has not been
easy.
When she
broke into a sport that Indian women have largely shunned, she found little
support from her family or community. Ms. Sengupta wrote:
At 17, she
left home to join a government-run sports training center in Imphal, the
capital of her home state, Manipur, and begged the boxing coach to let her
enter the ring.
"She
was so small, I told her no," the coach, L. Ibomcha Singh, said. Tears
rolled down her face. The coach relented.
Kom kept
boxing a secret from her family - until she won a state championship in 2000,
and everyone, including her parents, discovered what she had been up to. Her father
goaded her to give it up. Boxing is too dangerous, he told her. Members of her
clan disapproved. The boys in her hometown ridiculed her. She held out.
"One
day, I will show you who I am," she recalled thinking.
"The
tales of my struggles have no end. I did not have enough money to afford my
basic needs like sports kits and a proper diet," she told India Ink in a
recent interview.
The
stumbling blocks she faced, including a lack of basic training and adequate
facilities, encouraged her to create in 2006 a boxing academy in her home state
for aspirants like her.
Ms. Kom's
greatest test, however, was getting back into the ring after the birth of her
twin boys in August 2007. "It was hard to wean the boys off her breasts,
harder still to leave them at home and go off to camp for a month at a
time," Ms. Sengupta wrote in 2009.
On Sunday,
just as her twins celebrated their fifth birthday, their mother was busy
punching her way to victory in her first match at the London Olympics.
Ms. Kom has
been fighting in the 46-kilogram and 48-kilogram weight slots for most of her
boxing career, but she trained hard to gain weight to qualify for the
51-kilogram category, the lowest of the three weight classes established for
female boxers at the London Olympics.
"I will
pray to God to keep my body fit," she told Ms. Sengupta. "Because if
my body is fit, I can do anything."
