+Chemerkin, Pocket Hercules highlight Olympic weightlifting*
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By Brooke Edwards 
SportsTicker Contributing Editor 

SYDNEY, Australia (Ticker) -- The "strongest man in the world,"
and the tiny "Pocket Hercules" stole the weightlifting spotlight
at the last Olympics in Atlanta and undoubtedly will do it again
at the upcoming Games in Sydney. 

But this time around, they're going to have to share it with
women, who are muscling their way into the limelight with their
Olympic debut. 

Widely recognized as "the strongest man in the world," 400-pound
Andrei Chemerkin of Russia will attempt to defend his
super-heavyweight title, while 4-11 Turk Naim Suleymanoglu,
weightlifting's "Pocket Hercules," will look to make history
with an unprecendented fourth Olympic gold medal. 

Weightlifting's women will be looking to start their own Olympic
history, competing for the first time at an Olympics, in seven
divisions. 

Russia, Turkey, Greece and other former-Soviet countries likely
will dominate the eight men's classes, while China and Eastern
European nations are expected to dominate the women's
competition, with Taiwan possibly throwing a wrench or two in
the proceedings. 

Chemerkin, who lifts 450 pounds in the snatch and 575 pounds in
the clean and jerk, is the clear favorite in the 231-pound plus
super heavyweight division and is widely pegged to win a second
consecutive gold medal. 

Germany's Ronny Weller, Hungary's Tibor Stark, Poland's Pavel
Najdek and Armenian Ashot Danielyan all will try to match the
giant Russian. 

Shane Hamman, who at the U.S. Trials became the first American
to lift over 500 pounds in the clean and jerk since 1988, will
be one of the country's only chances at a medal in the men's
events, dim as they may be. 

The only American man to qualify for the Sydney Games besides
world junior champion Oscar Chaplin III, who will compete in the
170-pound plus division, Hamman lifts an average of 60 pounds
lighter than Chemerkin. 

The 33-year-old Bulgarian-born Suleymanoglu, who retired after
claiming his third gold in Atlanta four years ago, made an
unexpected comeback last year, declaring his intent to win a
historic fourth gold medal in the 62-kilogram (137 3/4 pounds)
division. 

His main competition likely will come from China's Shi Zhiyong,
nearly half his age at 18. 

Reaching the upper age limits of a sport that is particuarly
brutal on the knee joints, and after such a long hiatus,
Suleymanoglu is no longer a sure thing. 

Suleymanoglu, who has won 26 Olympic and world senior and junior
championships, finished only third at the European championships
earlier this year. 

However, the scrappy Turk remains undaunted. 

"I expect to lift enough to win the gold medal," Suleymanoglu
said.  "My mind is set and I am sure that I shall win the gold
medal." 

In the absence of Greek archrival Valerios Leonidis, who has
graduated to the new 69kg (152-pound) category, Suleymanoglu's
main competition will come from Croatia's Nikolay Peshalov and
Bulgaria's Sevdalin Minchev, who took gold and silver ahead of
him at the Europeans. 

Also looking to increase their gold medal collection are
Greece's Akakios Kakiashvilis in the 94kg (207-pound) and Pyrros
Dimas in the 85kg (187-pound) category. 

World record holders in all seven women's categories, China is
the runaway favorite at Sydney. 

However, limited to four competitors per country, Chinese women
will only compete in the 53kg (Yang Xia), 63kg (Chen Xiaomin),
69kg (Lin Weining) and 75kg-plus (reigning world champion Ding
Meiyuan). 

Determined to give the Chinese a run for their money are
Bulgaria's Donka Mincheva in the lightweight division,
19-year-old super heavyweight world record holder Agata Wrobel
of Poland, American 106-pounder Tara Nott and her 17-year-old
compatriot Cheryl Haworth. 

Haworth holds the American record for the snatch, the clean and
jerk and overall weight in the 165 1/4-pound plus class. 

"If at all possible, I'd like to get a medal.  I don't really
care -- gold, silver, bronze, whatever," said Haworth, an
American sensation who has appeared on several talk shows,
including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  "I just have to feel
confident about myself.  I think I can do it." 

Taiwan's Chen Jui-lien, who won the women's 63-kilogram division
at the 1999 World Championships in Athens and figured to bring
home Taiwan's first Olympic gold medal in Sydney, was banned
from the Games after testing positive for steroids in March. 

Chen had been suspended from competition for three years,
including a two-year ban for using illegal drugs and another
one-year ban for disobeying coaches. But the decision later was
overturned when Taiwan's National Council on Physical Fitness
and Sports ruled the dope test was not conducted according to
international standards. 

However, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF),
coming under strong international pressure, re-instated the ban.

Wu Mei-yi, another would-be Olympian, also was suspended after
testing positive for the same type of substance in July. 

Another doping scandal ruled out Turkey's women from the Games,
preventing them from competing at the European and World
Championships necessary to qualify for Sydney. 

st 09-15-00 05:02 et