Being the only weight lifter might be a challenge for James Adede, but it will not stop his quest for a good show at the Olympic Games.
Adede, who will be striving to lift 170kgs is forced to do his training with his coach John Ogolla even though he would have been happier if more weightlifters had joined him in Brazil not only to help in training, but also give each other moral support.
However, the format of qualifiers for African weightlifters has always made it difficult for Kenyans to qualify.
“I know it is not going to be easy competing against other established weightlifters who are also here as a team unlike me who has only the coach as a teammate. My target is still to improve on lifting 160kgs to 170kgs,” Adede said.
He will be competing in both the snatch and also in the clean and jerk. Snatch in weightlifting competition involves lifting the barbell from the ground to overhead in one continuous motion.
Adede moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across deltoids and clavicles while in the jerk the lifter raises the barbell to a stationary position above the head, finishing with straight arms and legs, and the feet in the same plane as the torso and barbell.
Adede has been in Kenya’s team in a number of international events and the Olympics in Brazil will not be above his weight.
In 2009, he was ninth at the Africa Championships in Uganda while in 2010 at the Commonwealth Games in India, he finished in eighth place.
He also took part at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland where he finished 10th and he is hoping that the Samba nation will bring him better luck as he strives to finish in a respectable position.
“Most competitors especially from Europe are much ahead of us not because of coaching or techniques, but because they get a lot of sponsorship which in the end helps in their diet and that makes them better,” Adede added.
Coach Ogolla said he was always encouraging Adede not to be intimidated by his other illustrious opponents as anything can happen in major competitions like Olympics.
