Bodybuilding Weekly: Melanie Roach Gets American Record, Places 6th

Melanie Roach Gets American Record, Places 6th
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Hardbodies News on 08 August, 2008 08:46:00
 
August 9, 2008
Melanie Roach was planning to quit weightlifting after the Olympics, but after
scoring a U.S. record and personal best on Sunday, she's not so sure.
Roach lifted a total of 193 kilograms (425.5 pounds) in the women's 53kg
division on Sunday, finishing in sixth place.
"Coming into it, I was definitely retiring," the 33-year-old mother of three
said. "Now that I've gotten a taste of it, I don't know, I guess I may have to
negotiate a little bit with my husband."
Roach and her husband, Dan, own a gym together in Washington state. He is also
running for re-election as a Republican member of the state legislature, so the
family has a busy fall ahead when they get back.
"For now I'm going to focus on helping him get elected and raising our kids,"
Melanie Roach said. "I'm looking forward to being a mom and a wife and a
business owner."
Roach said the two weeks she's spent preparing for the Olympics were the
longest she's been away from her family.  She got to see her husband and their
oldest son, Ethan, at the Olympic village for an hour Saturday because she
"needed a little-kid fix."
"That was a really important visit. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been as
focused today had I had that moment with them yesterday," Roach said after
Sunday's competition.
Roach was beaming with energy in each of her successful lifts in the Beijing
University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
She walked on to the field of play completely focused, staring intensely at the
bar as she rubbed her hands with chalk. Then she adjusted her belt, gripped the
bar, inhaled and pulled so hard you could see the veins pumping on her forehead.
At the end of each lift, she flashed a big smile as the audience roared in
approval, Ethan included.
"I'm pretty sure I heard a 'go mom,'" Roach said.
Roach missed the 2000 Olympics in Sydney because of a back injury. She quit the
sport after that to start a family, but returned to weightlifting after five
years.
"I've been a pretty selfish mom and a very unselfish athlete for about three
years now and it's time to put my family first. It's probably time to move on,"
she said.
Dan Roach said the couple would have to discuss what's next when they get back
home to Bonney Lake, Wash.
"I think the future is bright for both of us," he said. Then he laughed and
said his wife was on such a roll that maybe she should be running for office
instead of him.
Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand won the weightlifting gold medal
in the women's 53 kilogram category, setting an Olympic record.
South Korean Yoon Jin-hee claimed the silver with Nastassia Novikava of Belarus
taking the bronze.
Thailand's Prapawadee lifted a total of 221kg, including 95kg in the snatch and
an Olympic record score of 126kg in the clean and jerk.
Her total was 8kg better than Yoon and Novikava, with the former taking silver
because of a lower body weight.
Prapawadee was previously known as Chanpim Kantatian, but changed her name in
2007.
"A fortune teller told me if I changed my name I would go far, so I changed it
because I wanted to go to the Olympics," she told reporters after her win.
"Last time I didn't make it, and now I wanted to go in."
Melanie Roach and Julia Rohde of Germany (pictured below) won the best physique
awards from FigureRX Magazine.
Sources:  NBC Olympics, FigureRX Magazine, BBC