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Squash: Olympic Quest Continues 07 Dec 2009
A delegation of the World Squash Federation meets with the International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and the IOC Sports Director Christophe Dubi. The quest for inclusion into the Olympics continues.
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World Squash Federation President N. Ramachandran has expressed his confidence that, despite losing out on a place in the 2016 Olympic Games, squash is highly regarded by the International Olympic Committee.
Mr Ramachandran, accompanied by WSF Secretary General George Mieras, met IOC President Jacques Rogge and Christophe Dubi, IOC Sports Director, on 3 December in Lausanne to review the sport’s position on becoming an Olympic medal sport.
Invited by President Rogge to give his views on the recent bid and the future, President Ramachandran said he wished to speak plainly about the acute sense of disappointment felt by the entire squash community at the outcome of the 2009 bid.
Ramachandran stressed, however, that this was now in the past and that the most important message to convey was the wish of squash to try again, to seek advice from the IOC as to what might be needed and foster the good relations built up still further.
The IOC President welcomed the plain speaking: “Mr President, I like your style,” responded Rogge.
Dr Rogge was adamant that the 2009 bid process had been utterly clear since the July 2007 Guatemala IOC Session and that criticisms of the IOC in this respect were misplaced. He, too, though wished to move on and welcomed very much the commitment of squash to continue to try.
The IOC President outlined the process ahead: a list of International Federations of quality to be included in the next bid in 2013 would be established by the IOC in 2011, and would include the core sport to be dropped.
“We were very pleased to learn from the President that Squash will be on that list,” said Ramachandran.
President Rogge then asked Mr Dubi to give squash an idea of areas in which the sport’s case might be strengthened. “We received some very clear advice relating in particular to development of the game worldwide and broadcasting,” said the WSF President.
“An offer of help by the IOC was made, and gratefully accepted, and the WSF Management Committee will immediately set about planning our strategy for these next years – in association, of course, with PSA and WISPA, building on the vital unity established during the 2009 campaign,” added Ramachandran.
At the conclusion of the meeting President Ramachandran was delighted when President Rogge accepted his invitation to visit the new state-of-the-art squash facilities in Delhi whilst at the Commonwealth Games next October.
President Ramachandran was pleased with the outcome of the Lausanne session: “It was one of the most satisfactory meetings I have attended.
“We have clear guidance. Furthermore, I believe that we are highly regarded as a sport, scoring highly in most key criteria – including universality and the commitment of the athletes to our becoming an IOC medal Sport.
“I truly believe that we can now progress our case further, giving us a real chance of success. In my time as President, we shall do everything possible to ensure that we achieve this,” concluded Ramachandran.
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Fortius: Daisuke Midote, JPN
13 May 2005 08:20
© 2001 Akita
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FORTIUS · STRONGER · MAS FUERTE · PLUS FORT · STÄRKER · 更強 · より強い
Akita, JPN, August 21, 2001: On the stage of the Akita City Culture Hall. You can’t miss Brad Gillingham (USA) among the 2001 Akita volunteers getting the equipment ready for the final event: the deadlift. His height, 1,93 m, makes him stand out; his tranquil demeanour is in contrast to that of officious Japanese loading the bar with more weights – between six of them.
Brad had been a thin-framed high jumper once, clearing 2,07 m as his personal best. The jumping days were over, however, the moment he started to work on his strength. And lifting serious weights! Gradually – by working out and by “eating right” – he gained serious weight himself: on August 20, 2001, he weighed in at 145,2 kg! Some of it might be genetic: Gale Gillingham, his father, was an All-Pro linebacker for the Green Bay Packers. Muscle power and bulk are the prerequisites to play American football in that position. But Brad took to another athletic pursuit: to the definitive measure of strength – powerlifting.
Brad Gillingham is the reigning World Powerlifting Championships in the open class, above 125 kg. He has won his first ever international title right here in Akita – one year ago. Many of the spectators have taken a liking to the “Superheavyweight Champ from Minnesota” already then. “Minnesota” gets pronounced to perfection by the locals – after all, the Minnesota State University has a campus in Akita. They cheer for Brad as they do for Daisuke Midote (JPN), their hero and reigning World Champion in the class up to 125 kg. The Japanese lifter has outperformed all others in the squat. He has even set a new national record in the bench press: Daisuke, lying down on the bench, has taken the loaded bar at arm’s length, lowered it down to his chest, paused, and pushed it back up to full arm extension. 302,5 kg were on it!
The crowd is in high spirits. Another Japanese athlete, the decidedly more diminutive Yukako Fukushima, has won the bronze medal in the women’s lightweight class. Yukako, at 47,2 kg, has coped with nearly ten times the weight of her body in only three lifts. She, too, has outdone herself in the bench press: 117,5 kg. Nippon power!
Brad Gillingham’s challenge in the deadlift is a different one: 382,5 kg are on the floor before him, he needs to raise them and assume an erect position. The knees must be locked, the shoulders back, while he holds the bar with a firm grip. Brad does just that. More cheers by the crowd! With a total of 1027,5 kg in all three lifts the American pulls ahead of Jörgen Ljungberg (SWE).
It is Daisuke’s turn in what is not his strongest side. The deadlift is the domain of real giants, something the Japanese lifter is not, at least not by height. He has the volunteers put 310 kg on the bar. Again, it takes six to have the bumper plates attached and the loaded bar rolled to its position. If Daisuke lifts it off the floor, he ties Gillingham’s total and wins The World Games 2001 – by weight. His own that is! On August 20, before the competition even started, he has taken the edge over his opponent: he has weighed in at “only” 131,8 kg.
Daisuke Midote is World Games Champion in Powerlifting – by body weight! After two superb athletes have lifted more than two tons between them, in only six lifts, it is down to a difference of 13,4 kg in their body weight.
“He eats as much as a family of four and can lift the equivalent of three refrigerators,” writes the Minneapolis Star Tribune about Brad Gillingham. “Think of food as a performance tool! I always eat for performance,” says Brad. Maybe he decides to skip a meal or two prior to competing against Daisuke in The World Games 2005 Duisburg? But then: who can lift a ton on an empty stomach?
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| Features |
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Fortius: Daisuke Midote, JPN
13 May 2005
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You try lifting two tons on an empty stomach! While food can be a performance tool, renouncing breakfast can also make the difference. It did for Daisuke Midote, JPN, in the powerlifting at The World Games 2001 Akita.
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Citius: Chad Hedrick, USA
02 May 2005
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A LONE STAR SPORTS ICON! An exceptional athlete! … A highly competitive individual! … A man who thrives on rewriting the annals of a sport! … Born, raised and residing in Texas! It's not Lance Armstrong!
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Altius: Anna Dogonadze, GER
15 Mar 2005
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Anna Dogonadze won the bronze at The World Games 1997 Lahti in women’s individual trampoline for herself and her native Georgia. When trampoline premiered in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Anna competed for Germany.
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