123-pound North Korean jerks 370
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He definitely nailed that strategy.
Om, standing all of 5 feet and 123 pounds, won a gold medal by confidently lifting an Olympic-record 370 pounds in the clean and jerk at the London Games.
Only a handful of people have lifted more than three times their body weight, and this one came out of nowhere.
Om was in the “B” group with lower-ranked competitors and lifted weights of 160 and 165 kilograms on his first two attempts early in the day.
Rower makes a splash: A rower from Niger also captivated an Olympic crowd on Sunday when he trudged to the finish in last place in a single sculls repechage.
With the packed grandstand cheering him on at Dorney Lake, 35-year-old Hamadou Djibo Issaka pushed though the pain and found enough energy to finish nearly 1 minute, 40 seconds behind the winner.
After hearing the finishing horn, he slumped over in his boat, totally spent. After a few seconds, he lifted his head and saluted the crowd while wearing a wide grin.
Rhode makes it five in a row: Kimberly Rhode also put on a show at the Royal Artillery Barracks, winning the gold medal in women’s skeet shooting to become the first American to take an individual-sport medal in five consecutive
Olympics.
Rhode tied the world record and set an Olympic mark with 99 points. She also set an Olympic record in qualifying, missing only one of her 75 shots.
Vollmer sets record: Dana Vollmer had a triumphant return to the Olympics, setting a world record while winning gold in the 100 butterfly. The American was third at the turn, but powered to the wall for a time of 55.98 seconds.
Vollmer, who made the Olympics as a 16-year-old in 2004, was a huge disappointment when she failed to make the team for Beijing in 2008.
Wieber misses out in all-around: The U.S. women had the top score in qualifying, but the big story was world champion
Jordyn Wieber.
Wieber, a heavy favorite, is out of the all-around competition after finishing behind teammates Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas. Countries are limited to two gymnasts in the all-around and event finals.
The 17-year-old Wieber was sobbing as she made her way past reporters, so distraught she couldn’t speak to them.
A quote attributed to her and distributed by the London Games’ internal news agency said: “It is a bit of a disappointment. It has always been a dream of mine to compete in the all-around final of the Olympics.”
