So my son Jacob, whom I am very, very proud of, is in the State finals in powerlifting this weekend. The meet started yesterday morning and from the get go it was obvious that he and another young man would be competing for 1st and 2nd respectfully. Jacob (a junior) and Luis (a senior) , knew going in that they were each others competition and that it would most likely take 1700 lbs to bring home the gold medal.
In the first event, the squat, Luis bettered Jacob by 40 lbs, 690 - 650.
In the second event , the bench press, Jacob bettered Luis by 50 lbs 465 - 415.
This gave Jacob a 10 pound advantage going into the final event the dead lift.
Here is how the deadlift unfolded:
Luis first lift: 520 lbs
Jacob first lift:550 lbs
Luis second lift:565 lbs
Jacob second lift:575 lbs
On Jacobs second lift the judges called a scratch. Not only do you have to lift the weight,you have to have perfect form. The lift looked clean to me, but the judges do have a better view point and they said that he lifted his foot some. The judges decision is final and cannot be disputed. He still has a third attempt, but he is visibly upset that his lift was scratched, and now the advantage has shifted back to Luis.
At this point, both boys know that neither one of them can lift more than 575 lbs. You have to go up in weight each lift in your three attempts unless you scratch, then you can attempt the same. Any way you cut it right now, Luis has bettered Jacob and won the meet, fair and square, but they do both have to do their final lifts.
Jacob has to go first because of the advantage and attempts the 575 again, still upset about the scratch, and he is maxed out physically and probably mentaly. He starts the lift and gets about half way up and drops (or throws) the bar down and walks away, obviously upset in himself and the situation. Well, dropping the weight because you cant lift it is one thing, but throwing it down is another. Because of the way he walked away the judges construed it as throwing it down and disqualified him.
So in a blink of an eye, on the last lift of the day, he went from a for sure second place finish to a just like he never showed up finish.
I have always tried to instill sportsmanship into all of my kids, and I do not believe for an instance that he threw the bar down as a bad sport. He was disapointed in himself, which he never should have been, because it is quite an accomplishment to even be there no matter how he finished. He will learn from this experience and become a better person and athlete for it.
Lifes little lessons. Man they can be a bitter pill to swallow sometimes.
Judging amateur events is a tough row to hoe, especially on that type of call. You know him intimately and are better suited to know if this was bad sportsmanship or not, judges have to go solely on that single event.
Aptly named thread, hope the rest out there waiting for him are few and far between.
>
> Lifes little lessons. Man they can be a bitter pill to swallow sometimes.
You said it perfect Roadie. That is what sport is all about to me. To teach us how to win and how to lose. He will learn from this.
Jacob made a good decision in his choice of father.
I think he'll be O.K.
🙂
Don
I don't like those kind of judgement calls in sporting events, there is usually nothing fair about them.
But what can you do?
If anything, maybe he can use this to push him to the next level.
If he's that good now, he'll be twice as good his senior year. Tell him to keep working hard.
