In the 2016 Rio Olympics, there were only 2 weight lifting gold medals won by the United States, and none in any other event. In fact, the last gold medal was won over 20 years ago when US Weightlifter Mark Henry won at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. There are many answers to this question, but the fundamental cause is based on training methodologies which fall outside of USA Weightlifting’s scope of practice.
Weightlifting is truly effective
USA Weightlifting is a governing body for Olympic weightlifting. This organization was founded by Bob Hoffman and was originally called the American Amateur Weightlifters Association (AAWA). The name change happened to avoid confusion with other organizations that have Amateur in their names. USAW sanctions competitive events, provides education on injury prevention, and sets standards for coaching certification. USA Weightlifting has been successful at producing many world class athletes, but there have not been any Olympic champions from the United States since 2000.
This is a real shame because weightlifting is an effective way to improve health, increase fitness levels, build muscle mass and improve bone density.
Why Are There Few Weightlifting Champions in America?
USA Weightlifting is the governing body for Olympic weightlifting. In addition to educating coaches, USA Weightlifting sanctions and organizes competitions and helps athletes with training, sponsorship, and equipment. With a long history of developing world class athletes, it is surprising that America has not won an Olympics gold medal since 2000.
In fact, since 1972 when women were first allowed to compete in weightlifting competition, no American woman has even earned a medal at the Olympics. There have been some close calls: American Jill Mills was awarded a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Games but was bumped to bronze after she tested positive for steroids.
05 Reasons Weightlifting Is Truly Effective
USA Weightlifting is the national governing body for Olympic-style weightlifting in the United States. They have a list of 05 reasons why weightlifting is truly effective for athletes.
1) Weightlifting develops strength and power necessary to maximize athletic performance.
2) It provides resistance to injury, as well as protection from injury.
3) It improves coordination and flexibility.
4) It produces increased bone density, leading to reduced risk of injuries.
5) It has been shown to improve joint stability and can reduce pain associated with arthritis and other chronic joint pain conditions.
How Are We Going to Change This?
We need to take USA Weightlifting seriously. It is not a game, it is our livelihood. We need to stop making excuses and stop blaming others for our failures. We need to work hard and put in the time because if we don't, others will beat us every time. We need to support programs like CrossFit and other strength training programs that can help athletes compete with their international counterparts. And finally, we need to focus on speed, agility and conditioning; not just strength alone.