Chelley drops weight to pick up silver

Press, 28 July 1986, Page 19

Chelley drops weight to pick up silver

From

ROD DEW,

in Edinburgh

New Zealand lost a 60kg weightlifter on Saturday morning (New Zealand time) — and gained its second silver medal of the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games.

Clayton Chelley, a 23-year-old “pocket battleship” from Nelson, spent his build-up to the competition ducking in and out of saunas in an effort to strip I.skg from his bodyweight. He succeeded, was allowed to drop down to the 56kg class, and celebrated the move by claiming the silver medal with a very accomplished display behind the world-ranked Australian, Nick Voukelatos. “The weight came off fairly easily, and it didn’t seem to weaken me too much,” said a delighted Chelley afterwards. "But that its the last time I lift in that grade,” he said. His total lift was 216.5 kg — the best of his career in the 56kg class — but even so it was slightly less than he had hoped for. His snatch total of 96kg was well down on the 105 kg lift he had as his target. He came in at 90kg after all but Voukelatos had started, improved to 95kg only to fail in his third lift with the weights at 100 kg. He pushed the bar above his head, started to wobble backwards and lost the weights behind him as he attempted to straighten. Success at this weight, however, would have made no difference to the competition. Voukelatos, the winner of the gold medal in the 52kg class at the. Brisbane Games, was in a class of his own. He lifted 100 kg at his first attempt in the snatch, broke the Commonwealth Games record with a snatch of 105 kg in the

second round, and improved the Games record to 110 kg on his final lift. A subsequent attempt to break his Commonwealth record with a lift of 115.5 kg was unsuccessful. In the clean and jerk, the story was similar. He came in at 130 kg after everybody else had been eliminated, but at 135 kg showed the first signs of fallibility. He pulled awkwardly at the bar on the clean and failed to get it up on his chest. As the weights crashed to the floor, it seemed as if he might have reached his physical limits. Calling on all his reserves, he forced the bar overhead on his third lift, a new Commonwealth clean and jerk record. His grand total of 245 kg was also a Games record, easily beating the old record of 232.5 kg set by Geoffrey Laws (England) in the Brisbane Games four years ago. A special attempt on the Commonwealth record with 140.5 kg on the bar was unsuccessful. Right from the opening lifts, it was apparent that Chelley was in with a chance of the silver medal, but he faced a keen tussle with Teo Young Joo, of Singapore, before he could be certain of his place on the dais. Everything depended on the final round. Teo lifted first, hoisting -122.5 kg above his head. This brought him level with Chelley’s over-all total. The New Zealander needed to succeed at 122.5 kg to win the silver because he could have lost to Teo on a bodyweight countback. He ap-

proached the bar with determination, but as he pulled it on to his chest the weight swung sideways and for a few desperate moments it seemed as if he was going to crash. Fortunately, he proved equal to the situation, got the weights properly balanced.

The judges accepted the lift, 2-1, and Chelley had his first silver medal. "My knees were knocking,” he admitted later when asked about his vital last lift. “I knew if I got the clean I would be all right. The bar got on a bit of an angle, but I had it in control.”

Chelley explained he had made his decision to go for the lighter weight class after leaving New Zealand. He lost weight without trying and when he got down to about 6162kg he realised that he was far too light for the 60kg class. “The weight was coming off really easily. I guess nerves had something to do with it,” he said.

He is now turning his attention to preparing'for the world championships in Czechoslovakia next year, but he won’t be lifting in the 56kg class. From now on he plans to be a 60kg lifter. Although finishing out of the medals, the veteran Scottish lifter, John McNiven, earned himself a special place in Games history. At 51 years of age, he was more than twice the age of the next oldest competitor and celebrating his sixth successive appearance in the Commonwealth Games lifting.