A poor showing at the 1964 Olympics was considered a matter of bad selection of the athletes and poor planning of the Senior Nationals and Olympic Trials was blamed in 1968. But by 1972, the era of American dominance ended, save for Lee James wonderful Silver Medal performance in 1976, twenty three years ago. Olympic Lifting could not survive the scandals of steroids and uppers that rocked the sport in the Sixties, the influx of Universal weight machines and the hype of Nautilus machines and the direct competition provided by the birth of Powerlifting. In the United States, Olympic Lifters find quite a hill to climb. Gyms don t allow weights to be dropped, or chalk used, or, in many cases today, weights to be put overhead.
Meets are always a long drive away and poorly sponsored.
There are no racks, no spotters, no special equipment and no other person affecting the bar. It is hard to blame the bar. The best way to learn the lifts is to get with a coach, other lifters and plan on lifting in a meet. At an Olympic Lifting meet, one can learn more about the sport in three hours than all the articles and videos in the world. In this article, however, I would like to suggest some ways that Olympic Lifting can help the Dinosaur Lifter.