Lifter's long wait to realize Olympic dream

Defiant weightlifter Oleg Musokhranov has told AFP that "Russians never throw in the towel", as he contemplates sitting out the Paris Olympics later this year.

Even though he will be 33 by the time 2028 rolls around, the four-time champion of Russia is already looking ahead to that year's Los Angeles Olympics.

"It's not the end of the world," he said.

Musokhranov said he would only contemplate competing at this year's edition of the quadrennial sporting showpiece if "the Russian national anthem was played and the flag was present."

Neither will feature at the Paris Games, which run from July 26 to Aug 11, due to restrictions laid down by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will have to compete under neutral banners.

"For an athlete, it is hugely important to compete under your national flag and to have the national anthem," he said, speaking in late January on the sidelines of a competition in Tula, 200 kilometers south of Moscow.

Russia has condemned the IOC ruling as "discriminatory".

They sparked a furious reaction from Russian weightlifting federation president Maxim Agapitov, who has ruled out any participation by Russian athletes.

In a letter addressed to AFP, the 53-year-old former world champion derided the Paris Games as "a festival ridiculously and unfortunately branded as the Olympic Games".

'Satisfy those needs'

Agapitov is especially agitated because a generation of weightlifters of Musokhranov's vintage may now never experience an Olympics.

He said the career of a weightlifter was "short" and that it was "difficult" to remain at the top for several years.

"But, it is possible," Agapitov added, adopting a more positive tone — he himself was 27 when he topped the podium in the — 91 kilogram category at the 1997 world championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Musokhranov agrees that a lot of weightlifters at his age call it a day, but he believes his form is good enough for him to plow on, with an eye on Los Angeles in four years' time.

"I feel as strong as ever, I have not lost my motivation with regards to training," said the father of two daughters.

Musokhranov's desire to carry on and experience an Olympics is understandable given his longstanding love affair with the sport, which manifested by chance when, as an 11-year-old, he waited for a friend to finish training.

"Everything depends on your body and your hunger," said Musokhranov, who served a three-month doping suspension in 2013.

"I am very hungry. The body has no alternative but to satisfy those needs," he added with a smile.

Paris will certainly miss his showmanship.

He dances onto the stage with a mischievous look in his eyes, which he says is to put psychological "pressure" on his rivals.

It certainly worked in Tula as, a few minutes after speaking to AFP, he won the — 61kg category at the Russia Cup.

He admits, though, it is hard to calibrate where he might stand against non-Russian opponents, as the number of international weightlifters he currently faces is limited due to events in Ukraine.

However, he is very much a glass-half-full person.

So, while he may not yet be able to emulate his idols, such as fellow Russian Evgeny Chigishev, the Olympic silver medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games, or Turkiye's three-time Olympic champion Halil Mutlu, he takes succor from the crumbs he can sweep up.

"We have the Russian Cups, the Russian championships," he said.

"Last April we were invited to Venezuela."

Musokhranov took gold in Caracas — and what he wouldn't give for that to be the result in Los Angeles in 2028.

AFP