Today, Washington state native Melanie Roach, a former gymnast and mother of three, makes her Olympic debut at age 33 in the women's 53kg weightlifting event. 33 isn't old by any measure, but after three kids and intense back surgery and a previous attempt at the games, it is something to admire.
At just 5-foot-1 and 117 pounds, it's hard to picture that this petite woman from Tacoma is an Olympic weightlifter. She is also the mother of three youngsters, a politician's wife and a business owner.
Melanie Roach plans to break a record in Beijing, which also marks her first trip to the Olympic Games. "You know you imagine it to be a certain way and it's so much better than I imagined," she said. "Seeing all the other countries, all the other different sports. The venue is amazing."
Melanie plans to lift 250 pounds to win her event. She says that no one ever accurately guesses her sport.
"The first thing they say is: Are you a gymnast or a soccer player? They never guess weightlifter," she said.
You do realize her weight is purely muscle and organs? My God.
If I saw her, I'd guess her sport was kicking ass and taking names.
1 comment:
The other thing about Roach is that one of her kids is severely autistic.
Sports Illustrated had a nice article on her, too.
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