 |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
You are in: Other Sport |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
    |
|
Weight-ing game is over for Michaela! | |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Around the Academy: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
I was never into team sports as a kid because I simply hated the idea of sharing the glory with anyone else! Trouble is, when things go wrong you've got no-one to share the burden with either. Weighlifting is a tough sport. Essentially you're competing against yourself. Some people say it's a test of flesh and blood against iron and gravity.
You've got to be very focused and extremely dedicated. And I reckon it helps if you're a little bit bonkers! Getting to the Olympics is what's kept me motivated all these years. It's what's driven me ever since I saw swimmer Adrian Moorhouse win gold at Seoul in 1988. The past 11 years have been a real rollercoaster ride, but qualifying for Athens has made it all worth while. I was gutted when I missed out by the skin of my teeth four years ago. It was touch and go this time round too.
An injury meant I missed out on several ranking events and I had a nerve-wracking wait before eventually being given the go-ahead. It's not like other sports where the national body decides selection. Instead you have to wait for the international governing body to invite you. For that to happen, you have to ranked in the top 10 in the world. So even if you're the best in your country, it still doesn't mean you're guaranteed a place. As you can imagine, the competition is fierce.
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
