In the clean and jerk he did 152.5 and 157.5 for a 275-kg PR total and enough for a spot on the U.S. Thanh missed his first two snatches with 115 he went to 117.5 for a do-or-die attempt and made it very strong. Thanh continued to improve and was totaling 272.5, but just couldn't seem to lift enough to win until 1996 when that total held up for first place. Tim McRae and Vernon Patao were now on the scene and kept Thanh in second place in 1993, 1994, and 1995.
Thanh got over his failure by going to the Olympics as a spectator and came home determined to make the 1996 Atlanta Olympic team. He had done 150 officially previously, but on this day 145 buried him. He set a PR snatch of 115 and needed only a 145-kg clean and jerk to make the Olympic team, and it crushed him in the clean. It was at the 1992 Olympic Trials where Thanh had his biggest disappointment. Then Bryan Jacob came on the scene and pushed Thanh to second place in 19 and third in 1992 behind Chris LeRoux. He then won the 1988 Nationals with a 222.5-kg total and won again in 1989 with a 237.5-kg total. This qualified him for an under-23 international competition tour in Europe where he competed in four different competitions-in Sweden, Germany, France, and England-within two weeks and had two six-for-six performances, improving his total to 235. citizen and came back to weightlifting and placed second at the 1987 Nationals in the 60-kg class with a total of 220 kg. This discouraged him, so he stopped training, finished high school, and graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in computer science. citizen yet, he wasn't allowed to compete nationally. He made great progress and was winning all the local competitions as a 56-kg (123-lb.) lifter, but was soon dominating the 60-kg (132-lb.) class. I naturally asked if he would like to try Olympic lifting and he said yes. In 1981, 17-year-old Thanh roller skated into my gym and at a bodyweight of 55 kg (121 lb.), he snatched (without the roller skates) 60 kg (132 lb.) after watching others do it. They spent several years in a refugee camp there before being sponsored by a family in San Francisco. Thanh, along with his family (brother, sister, mother and father), had escaped Vietnam in the late 1970s, literally by boat to Australia. Thanh Nguyen is probably the best example of never giving up. He had come back from defeat and frustrating injuries to achieve his dream, to compete in the Olympics-he never quit! John's body was breaking down, one little injury after another, but he dug deep and had his best day (170 kg and 205 kg) at the Olympic Trials to make the 1988 Olympic team. Unfortunately for John he was competing against his training partner and friend Mario Martinez (+110 kg), 1984 Olympic silver medalist and holder of all the U.S. After that, injuries started to take their toll on John, but he sucked it up and fought on, placing second in the 1987 Nationals and second in the Pan American Games. John went back to the gym, trained hard, and won the Nationals in 1986. He cleaned it strong and drove the jerk to arm's length, but couldn't hold it, no lift. At the 1984 Olympic Trials all he needed was 200 kg in the clean and jerk to make the team, a weight he had done on several occasions in the gym and in competition. John Bergman (+110 kg) was an up-and-comer and a long shot to make the 1984 Olympic team, but he was lifting the weights that would do it. He came back from defeat to be a champion because he never quit! records, made World teams, won silver medals at the 1987 Pan American Games, and placed fifth at the 1984 Olympics. He came home and started training as hard as ever. In 1980 he was on a roll again, breaking his personal records in local meets, and we thought he would make the 1980 Olympic team, but he had another disappointing Nationals and Olympic Trials, placing fourth. However, he bombed out there-a big disappointment. He won the 1979 Junior Nationals where he set records, and had lifted many personal records in training, enough to win the 1979 Nationals. As a coach I have some great examples of the winning mental attitude. This is a mental attitude that successful people have in sports and all walks of life. That's an old and proven cliche and what it means is keep your determination and focus, and never stop trying. Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win
#A quitter never wins manual
Olympic Weightlifting Team Coach 1980, 1988 & 1992Īuthor of Olympic-style Weightlifting for Beginner & Intermediate Weightlifters Manual and DVD
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