Weightlifter Ssekyaaya faces key test in Olympics

By James Bakama

Can weightlifting rise from the shadows of athletics and boxing to also win an Olympic medal for Uganda?

That’s the question every Ugandan will be asking when Charles Ssekyaaya, the country’s lone lifter at the London Games takes to the competition arena at mid-day today.

Ssekyaaya who will be competing in the 62 kilogramme category, faces stiff competition from six nations in a sport where Uganda has been regularly represented since Fred

Bunjo and John Kyazze made a maiden appearance at the 1984 Olympics Los Angeles.

It is not easy

However, Ssekyaaya has a modest view of his chances.

“A medal will not come easy. But I will try my best,” said the lifter who views China, Pakistan and Indonesia as the favourites in a race where competitors are in two groups

The Colorado-based lifter will be up against Manuel Miginfel (Micronesia), Ahmed Mohamed (Egypt), Lapua Lapua (Tuvalu), Petris Stevick (Palau), Mohammed Habsi (Indonesia) and Salmanca Pineda (El Salvador).

He was relieved that China and Pakistan are not in his group.

“That reduces on the pressure,” he noted from the games village yesterday.

A good performance from Ssekyaaya will be a good morale booster for a country that started off on a losing note on Saturday.

Badminton player Edwin Ekring lost his opening match to a Frenchman 12-21 and 11-21.

Ssekyaaya was briefly thrown off balance on arrival in London recently following a problem with his accreditation.

The problem was however solved and the lifter settled in the Olympic village.

Each lifter is allowed three attempts at the snatch and three attempts at the clean and jerk. Their best lift in each is combined to determine their overall result. If an athlete fails to make a valid lift with any of their three attempts in the snatch, they are eliminated.

When a tie occurs, the athlete with the lower bodyweight is declared the winner.

If two athletes lift the same total weight and have the same bodyweight, the winner is the athlete who lifted the total weight first.

Empty seats

Olympic organisers scrambled on Sunday to quell a backlash over depressing TV images of half-empty stands at the London Olympics as a government minister said an urgent inquiry had been launched to identify just who had failed to show up, and why.

Sports fans from all over Britain who had been charmed by the Olympic publicity offensive, but were let down by a complex ballot system for the 8.8 million tickets, have been outraged by footage of empty seats at key venues including Wimbledon –– one of the hottest tickets in world tennis.

London organising committee (LOCOG) Chairman Sebastian Coe, who threatened to name and shame sponsors that did not fill their seats, said missing spectators were mostly officials from international sports federations, other Olympic officials, their families and friends.