Hassle Free BBC

American Open Videos now available on the Hassle Free YouTube Channel

Check out the Hassle Free lifters at the recent American Open in Mobile, AL.  Go to the Hassle Free YouTube channel and search for your favorite lifter:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HassleFreeBBC?feature=mhee

  

Garcia and Wilson take Silver at American Open

Hassle Free sent 8 lifters to this years prestigious American Open held in Mobile, Alabama on December 2-4. As usual HF had the youngest contingent of lifters competing in one the USA's most competitive, Senior Open events. Despite their youth all 8 athletes had great performances.

Most notable were David Garcia and Ian Wilson, both bringing home silver medals. Ian, lifting in the very competitive 94kg class, with a 150, 189, 339kg total. The 94kg class turned out to be one of the most exiting with the top three lifters all totaling 339kg and the medals determined by body weight. David Garcia, coming back from injury at the Senior Nationals last summer, finished 2nd in the 105kg class. David had a 147, 184, 331kg total. Congratulations to Ian and David. On a side note, David is not only a great athlete , but an outstanding student and is graduating from UC Davis on Dec. 10 with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Next up was Jenny Lam, also back from injury, finishing with a 63, 82, 145kg total and a 5th place finish. Having arguably the best performance of his young career, D'Angelo Osario went 6 for 6 for a 127, 161, 288kg total and a 7th place finish. Sacramento's Sae Vang, at 69kg, took home a 6th place finish with 105, 135, 240kg total. Sae is the reigning 62kg Junior National Champion, but is now lifting up a weight class. Kari Shimomura finished with a very respectable 74, 85, 159kg total and a 7th place finish in the loaded 63kg weight class. Ben Claridad also made the trip this year and finished 9th in the 105kg class with a 135, 162, 297kg total in the 105kg weight class.  Kristopher Mares, a relatively new HF member, competed in the 94kg class and had a 118, 152, 270kg total.

Videos of all the HF lifters are coming soon to the the HF Youtube site. Check back next week.

For complete 2011 AMerican Open Results go to: http://www.lifttilyadie.com/Results/11AmOpen.htm

Chioma Amaechi Lights up Paris

Hassle Free BBC lifter and Cal Sophomore Chioma Amaechi recently traveled to Paris as part of Team USA's 14-member delegation at this year's World Weightlifting Championships. Chioma finished in 14th place with a 98kg Snatch, 140kg Clean & Jerk for 238kg total in the +75kg weight class. Chioma's 14th place finish turned out to be the second best performance by an American athlete and is a big step in her journey to make the 2012 US Olympic Team. To give you an idea of the level of Chioma's competition, the Gold medal winner in the women's +75kg class finished with a 146kg Snatch, 182kg C&J, 328kg total. Congratulations Chioma!

For Team USA only results - http://weightlifting.teamusa.org/news/2011/11/05/world-championships-results-from-paris/45356

For complete results - http://www.iwf.net/

Tommy's back for Kono VI

Tommy Kono was back in Sacramento for the 6th annual Tommy Kono Open. Tommy Kono, a 2-time Olympic Champion,7-time World Champion, and Sacramento High School graduate, traveled from his home in Hawaii to play honorary host to 95 athletes at this year's event. It was a great turnout, both in lifters and spectators. 17 PWA records were broken by seven different lifters - Jacqueline Janet, Jenny Lam, Sandra Arechaederra, Lisa Renschen, Kris Pavlov, Kyle Saelee, and Raymond Ramirez.

 
Tommy shown here with PWA Female Athlete of the Year, Kari Shimomura. Kari took 3rd place in the Women's Select with a 157kg total.

 
Hassle Free's Jenny Lam shown making her PWA Junior record 61kg Snatch. Jenny also broke two more PWA Junior records with a 79kg Clean & Jerk and 140kg total. Jenny took second in the Women's select, finishing 10 sinclair points behind Women's Select winner Kara Doherty. Jenny was also awarded the PWA Junior Female Athlete of the Year.

 

Above is Hassle Free's Kyle Saelee completing his PWA Junior record Clean & Jerk. Kyle also had a 250kg total, his second PWA Junior record of the day.

For complete results go to -http://www.lifttilyadie.com/Results/11TKOpen.htm

More pictures - http://hasslefree.smugmug.com/Weightlifting/Tommy-Kono-6-2011/18499596_Jgfvn7#1427722259_Gw3VdDh 

 

 

 

Hassle Free's Vang and Wilson are outstanding at the Junior World Championships in Penang, Malaysia

 

 
 
Sae Vang had an outstanding performance representing USA Weightlifting at this year's Junior World Championships being held in Penang Malaysia. Sae missed his first Snatch attempt, but fought back to make his next five lifts for a 242kg total. Sae set personal records in the Snatch (105kg) and Total (242kg) on his way to a 15th place finish. Congratulations Sae!

Also representing Hassle Free and USAW was Ian WIlson. The well traveled Wilson, barely home from his Silver medal performance in Peru, matched his Youth World performance with a 320kg total. Ian improved his Snatch to 146kg and finished with a 174kg C&J. Ian finished 14th, but it's important to note that Ian is just 17, competing against the best 20&U athletes in the world. Ian was, by far, the youngest among 20 competitors in the 94kg weight class and has 3 more years competing at the Junior level. Look for big things from Ian in the next several years. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Ian from Penang.

Next up for Hassle Free is Chioma Amaechi lifting tomorrow, Wednesday, in the +75kg class. Check back tomorrow for Chioma's results.

 

Cai and Tiongson lead Hassle Free to 9 Medals at 2011 School Age Nationals

 

Another year and a bunch more medals for Hassle Free BBC at this year's USAW School Age National Championships held last weekend in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Cathy Cai and Maria-Heilsyme Tiongson led the way, each winning Gold as part of Hassle Free's 9-medal bounty. Silver medals went to Michelle Cai, Helena Viets, and Deanna Zheng, and Bronze going to Inez Vara, Akiko Green, Cheray Piper, and Ian Howerton. Hassle Free sent 19 athletes to this year's championships with half coming back with medals. Many of these athletes were lifting in their first National event and almost everyone established personal records. Congratualtions to all the lifters!

For the complete set of results go to: Download 2011_National_School_Age_Results_USAW

Check out the Picture Gallery at: 2011 School Age Nationals Picture Gallery

For Videos go to: Hassle Free BBC YouTube Channel  

Ian Wilson Named USA Today's Olympic Athlete of the Week

Following up on his silver medal at the Youth World Championships, Hassle Free BBC'c Ian Wilson was named USA Today's Olympic Athlete of the Week.

Wilson won silver medals in the Clean and Jerk and Total and is the first U.S. athlete to earn a medal at the prestigious event for the world's top 17&U weightlifters.

 For the complete USA Today article:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2011-05-17-aotw16_N.htm

 

Hassle Free's Ian Wilson Wins Silver on the World Stage

Hassle Free BBC's 17-year-old Ian Wilson became the first U.S. athlete ever to win a medal at the Youth World Championships on Saturday when he earned a silver medal in the 94kg (206.8lbs) division in Lima, Peru.

A gold medalist at the 2010 Pan American U17 Championships, Wilson struggled in the snatch portion of the competition. Wilson needed two attempts to complete his 140kg (308lbs) lift. On his final attempt, Wilson added five kilograms (11lbs) to the bar which would have earned him second place in the snatch portion of the event in which medals are awarded for the best snatch and clean and jerk lifts as well as the total score. Wilson missed the lift that would have tied his PR and finished the snatch in fifth place.

Although Wilson was in fifth place, only three kilograms separated the two-time Youth World Team member from second place and he was determined to make up ground in the clean and jerk. Wilson began with the second heaviest opening lift of 171kg (376.2lbs) behind Alexey Kosov (RUS) who had set a new Youth World Record of 172kg (378.4lbs) in the snatch and had already earned a 29kg (63.8lbs) lead on his opponents going into the clean and jerk portion of the event.

Wilson dropped his second attempt of 180kg (396lbs) and knew he needed to finish the lift on his final attempt to stay in medal contention. Not only did Wilson complete the lift to move ahead of Changsheng Wu (CHN) and Emad Baheri (IRI), but Wu couldn’t hold onto his final attempt at 181kg (398.2lbs) which meant Wilson would win silver medals in both the snatch and the total. Wilson’s final lift also put him just a kilogram behind Kosov’s best clean and jerk result.

Overall, Wilson totaled 320kg (704lbs) and would bring two medals back to the United States.

 
 
Also representing the USA was Hassle Free's Michele Cai, lifting the in the 75kg weight class. Michele got 3 personal records and finsihed 10th among the best 17&U lifters in the World. Our own Kevin Doherty was representing the USA as the Women's coach. Also on hand, pictured above, is Ian's dad, Eric Wilson.

 

Vang and Lam break PWA Records

Sae Vang and Jenny Lam both had outstanding meets recently at the PWA School Age Championships held in Sacramento, CA.

Jenny Lam, coming back from an elbow injury, had a great meet going 6 for 6.  More impressive was breaking the PWA Junior records in the Snatch, C&J, and Total. Jenny had a 56kg snatch, a 76kg C&J, and 132kg Total.

 

Sae Vang, lifting in the 69kg weight class had the one of the best lifts of his young career with PWA Junior Record C&J of 141kg. Along with the record, Sae was 6 for 6 for the day with a 103kg Snatch for a 244kg total. Sae is among the select few representing the USA at the Junior World Championships being held in Penang, Malaysia starting on June 28.

 
Cocongratulations to Jenny and Sae!

For complete 2011 PWA School Age Championship Results:

http://www.lifttilyadie.com/Results/11PWASAChp.htm

Hassle Free's David Garcia sets new American Collegiate Record

 
 

Lifting for Hassle Free BBC and University of California – Davis, reigning National Collegiate Champion David Garcia placed second overall at the 2011 Collegiate Nationals in Shreveport, but won the clean and jerk with his lift of 195kg. The lift set a new American Collegiate Record, breaking Cody Gibbs’s (Shreveport, La.) mark of 193kg from the 2007 National Collegiate Championships. David was very conservative in the Snatch as he continues to rehab an injured elbow, making 135 for an outstanding 330kg total. Do you think Coach Doherty was exited? Check out the coach in the background. Congratulations David.

 

Also representing HF and Consumes River College was Keylin Mackey lifting in the 94kg weight class. Keylin finished 4th with a 135kg Snatch and 155kg C&J for a 285kg total. He made a 160kg C&J, but unfortunately as the picture below shows the clock had run out and the lift was not allowed.

 
Rounding out the Hassle Free team were Ben Claridad (Sac State) finishing 6th in the 105kg class with an outstanding 302kg total, Austin Gwaltney (Sierra College)  went 3 for 6 with a 223kg total, and Erich Gebeault (Sac State) also went 3 for 6 with 210 total.

Congratulations to all the Hassle Free Lifters.

For Complete Results - http://assets.teamusa.org/assets/documents/attached_file/filename/40961/2011NatCollStartWeighScoreResultFinal.pdf