MEN’S QUALIFICATION Now we turn to the men, for whom the


situation is completely different. Unfortunately, our men’s team, which


was hampered by illness and injury, did not earn any slots for the Olympic Games as of the close of the 2011 World Champi- onships. They will have an opportunity to earn one such slot if, as a team, they are able to place in the top seven at the 2012 Pan American Championships (excluding countries such as Cuba and Colombia that have already qualified multiple men for the Olympic Games). Our women cannot earn any additional slots at the Pan American Championships because they have already qualified multiple slots for the Olympic Games. Therefore, it appears highly likely that we will earn one men’s slot for the 2012 Olympic Games (at this point, we cannot earn more than one slot). Consequently, we cannot and will not have a final men’s Olympic Trials in conjunction with the Na- tionals in March. Rather, the Nationals will be conducted in the traditional way for the men, with awards being given at the con- clusion of the “A” session of any category conducted at these championships.


The top eight men, ranked on the basis


of the 2012 Pan American Championships qualifying procedure that are outlined in the Olympic Games athlete selection pro- cedure document, will be invited to com- pete in the Pan American Championships, which will take place in Guatemala in April. The men on that team will hopefully earn the US a slot at the Olympic Games. If they do, the top ranked male athlete, in accor- dance with our Olympic Team Qualifica- tion standards, will represent the US at the 2012 Olympic Games. It should be noted that this ranking will be determined on the basis of all performances at stipulated qualification events that took place from the 2011 World Championships through the 2011 Pan American Games. Thus, the highest ranked athlete in all of those events combined will be our male Olym- pian for 2012.


ADDITIONAL NOTES I want to mention two additional impor-


tant points. Contrary to what was stated in the Olympic Qualification procedures that were subject to final USOC approval, the Junior World Championships will not


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count as a qualifier for our female athletes, as the Trials in March will be the final Trials. A male athlete cannot lift at both the Pan American Championships and the Junior World Championships. He can lift at either and his total will be counted toward Olym- pic Qualification. A second point of clari- fication is that the Collegiate Nationals will not be a qualifying event, as it was not held in the January/February time frame that was originally anticipated. That sums up what will happen in terms


of Olympic Team selection from this point forward (if this summary differs in any way from the final published procedures, those procedures will govern). We look forward to a year of exciting competition for Olym- pic spots and to great performances at the Games from those who earn those spots. We wish all of our athletes well in this chal- lenging year of competition. n


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