DULUTH – USA Weightlifting today announced that the 2008 Olympic Weightlifting Trials will be held Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 at the Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 Ferst Drive Northwest, on the Georgia Tech campus.
Duluth resident, Caleb Williams, will be competing for one of the two slots on the USA Olympic team.
From this competition, male and female team members will qualify for the U.S. Olympic Weightlifting team that will compete in the Beijing Olympic Games in August. To qualify for the trial, weightlifters must be ranked in the overall top 30 men or women in the country.
William says he’s fairly new to the Olympic lifting world but has 13 years of power lifting experience. William won 5 world championships in power lifting, which includes squats, bench and dead lifts.
“I’ve always followed the Olympics and wanted to be a part of them. It’s now or never. You don’t get any younger!” Williams says.
Williams is currently working as a personal trainer at Quest Gym and Nutrition, located across from Duluth High School.
“This promises to be a very exciting and competitive field that is represented by several accomplished, local weightlifters,” said Dean Alford, chairman of the Olympic Weightlifting Trials. “We appreciate the strong support and great facilities that Georgia Tech has provided the participating athletes and their families for this event and look forward to crowning the athletes that will represent our country in Beijing.”
The Olympic Weightlifting Trials are sponsored by Team Georgia, a state weightlifting group dedicated to promoting competitive weightlifting and implementing the sport into the daily routines of Georgia athletes and coaches.
The three-round elimination trials are scheduled for Friday from 11 am to 3 pm (first session) and 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm (second session), and Saturday from noon to 4 pm (third session). The Saturday session is scheduled to be recorded by NBC for the Olympic qualifying show.
Tickets for the event are $10 (plus a $1.25 service charge) and can be purchased at www.olympictrials2008.com/tickets.htm or at the door. Weekend packages that include all three events are also available.
U.S. Olympic Weightlifting Team to be Chosen During National Trials at Georgia Tech