 O no, there goes her record and temper
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-12 08:50 Democratic People's Republic of Korea's O Jong-ae threw a giant tantrum yesterday after seeing her Olympic record - as well as her gold medal bid - vanish in a flash at the weightlifting competition. The 58kg bronze medalist, ranked No 3 in the world, initially refused to attend the mandatory press conference for medalists after the awarding ceremony. "I was very sad and disappointed with my score. That's why I did not want to attend this press conference," a teary-eyed O said after she was coaxed to change her mind. The 24-year-old set the Olympic clean and jerk record after two attempts with her final lift of 131kg. However, it was a case of too little too late, and her record lasted a mere minute, the time Chinese defending Olympic champion Chen Yanqing needed to heave 132kg. To add to O's misery, Russian lifter Marina Shainova pipped her for the silver despite an inferior clean and jerk effort of 129kg. Shainova earlier hoisted 98kg in the snatch, where O managed only 95kg after failing to match the Russian's score in two attempts. "I had expected to get better scores in these Olympic Games," O said. "I wanted to bring joy to the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, but I failed to do so. So I am very sad and sorry for them." AFP (China Daily 08/12/2008 page5) |
