[2016 OLYMPICS]


THREE OLYMPIANS HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS ON RIO


BY ERNEST PUND FOR USA WEIGHTLIFTING


The closing ceremonies in London are now behind us and the four-year cycle begins again, this time toward Rio de Janeiro. USA Weightlifting’s three 2012 Olympians each have somewhat different perspectives on whether to head for the 2016 Games.


Holley Mangold said that she is defi nitely going. Sarah Robles weighed options for a month and now also says that she is committed to the 2016 Games, referring to Rio as “Plan A.” Kendrick Farris has not decided whether to take a third run through the Rings.


HOLLEY MANGOLD Not long after the closing ceremonies


in London, Holley Mangold was awaiting surgery on her right wrist. “I think the Olympics was one of the


best experiences of my life, and it was also one of the most painful experiences of my life,” she recalled. Just two weeks prior to the Games, Mangold tore the tendons in her right wrist. The pain shot down her arm as she struggled to put numbers on the board, which she did: a snatch of 105 kg and a clean and jerk of 135 kg for a total of 240 kg. Even with that searing memory still


fresh in her mind, Mangold was resolved on 2016. “I’m defi nitely going to Rio,” she said. Before the injury Mangold was shooting


for 120 kg snatch and 155 kg clean and jerk in London. In the year leading up to the Games, she’d added 50 kg to her total. So, while Mangold doesn’t have any specifi c goals for those numbers she’ll put up in Rio, her outlook is optimistic. “The sky’s the limit,” she said.


Even with that searing memory still fresh in her mind, Mangold was resolved on 2016.


“I’m defi nitely going to Rio,” she said.


KENDRICK FARRIS Rio would be Kendrick Farris’ third


competition at the Olympics. And he has not decided yet whether he wants to go for it. Probably by the end of next year, he said, he’ll know. In the meantime, his attention will


go to his wife of nearly two years, Katrina, his 6-year-old son, Khalil, and his businesses. “I’m focused on my business and


making sure that I can take care of my family,” he said. Go to www.kendrickjfarris.com to


see for yourself. Farris has a line of workout clothes that he’s marketing and he is about to embark on his Bless the Gym Tour when he teaches top tips for lifting and the clean and jerk specifi cally with a hands-on approach and individual attention. Farris also does public speaking and occasionally hosts stand-up comedy shows. Participating in the Olympics, he


said, “is defi nitely an honor.” The intense training, though, is tough on the body, not only for the Olympic Games but also for all the meets leading up to the Olympics including the required qualifying events. For now, Farris said, he’ll build his business and be with his family.


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SARAH ROBLES Shortly after the Games were over, Robles


and her coach, Joe Micela of Performance One Advanced Sports Training in Mesa, AZ, sat down to dinner. The question on the table: “Is this really what we want to do?” They were pondering the path to Rio in 2016 and what that would entail. The commitment


is enormous, Robles


said. It requires gathering sponsors again, committing to workouts that sometimes go six to eight hours a day … all of this while trying to pay the rent, hold the job, buy the groceries, have a relationship, all the things that most people do. “These last four years have been an extreme challenge … the last two years have been particularly stressful leading up to the Games,” Robles said recently. These next four years leading to Rio could


be even more intense, given that Robles has targeted the American and Pan American records, 128 kg snatch and 161 kg clean and jerk in her division, and a medal at the next Olympic Games. School, work, and track and fi eld are serious


options that Robles would like to pursue. Robles used to throw discus and said, “I’ve always had a dream to succeed in track and fi eld. It feels like unfi nished business.” To pursue the discus, though, might


compromise her performance in weightlifting, she said. “How could I live with myself thinking about what I could have done?”


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