And the results are in...

Photo by Jeff Franko Well this is the post everyone has been waiting for ! I made 2 of 3 of my snatches, and 1 of 3 of my clean and jerks. I am disappointed that I did not make my last attempt clean and jerk because it would have been a new American Record. I am grateful though that I was given the opportunity to even try a new American Record at the Olympic Games. I ended up 14th in the Snatch, 12th in the Clean and Jerk, and 14th overall. My US team mate Natalie Woolfolk in my class ended up 12th overall. I cried twice even before the meet had started because I was so excited ! I was physically there in the moment, though my mind was thinking back over the course of the last 13 years of what it had taken to get me there. It was a huge emotional experience....I walked out on the platform twice before the competition had even started to get the feeling of what it was going to be like and be on stage. I looked into the stands and found my parents and husband. There were two people I thought about when I looked up in the stands that I wish were there because they both played a huge part of the person that I am today, my coach and my sister. I know my coach was watching at home in Vermont cheering me on in front of his computer and my sister was there in spirit cheering me on as she has been since the day she passed away. Once the competition was over I did 5 interviews...that was also an emotional challenge. I wanted to just leave and be in the moment and go over what had just happened in my head, but I had to keep my composure and talk about how I was feeling, which was difficult to do while fighting off tears. I was also icing my wrist because I had 'tweaked' it on a lift, so everyone was asking what was wrong with my wrist. Please don't get me wrong, I am very proud to be US Olympian and be apart of this amazing event though I am a little disappointed in my overall performance. But as of right it is fueling my fire to give it another go for 4 years. Watch out London ! (My dad was born in England, and I think it would make him proud for me to compete in his home country !) My parents, Jason and I left and took a 40 minute taxi ride and had dinner at the Bank of Americas China Lounge. We ended up having dinner with my team mate Natalie (who had just also competed and did very well!) and her family. From there we came back to my parents hotel with the anticipation of dropping off our stuff and then going to the silk market. Instead we were in bed by 9:15 all exhausted from the day. Today I am going to bring Mom, Dad and Jason to the Olympic Village to see where I have been living for the past 2 weeks. We're also going to try to get to the great wall, and the Silk Market to do some cheap shopping ! I still have 4 more days in Beijing and plenty of things lined up. We have a team photo, meet and greet at the Adidas Olympic Store, and a press conference with Lenovo ! Stay tuned for more adventures from Beijing !

Photo my Jeff Franko