Olympic Weightlifting

Melanie Roach doesn't resemble your typical Olympic weightlifter. She packs a lot of muscle in her five-foot two-inch, 117 lb frame. But, a weightlifter is not what she set out to be. Roach was an aspiring gymnast, on her way to the Washington State High School Championships when an injury took her out of competition. Rehab included free weights, and soon after, she was hooked.

In 1998 she became the first ranked US weightlifter in her class, and the first one in history to clean and jerk more than twice her body weight. With a successful season behind her, she set out for the 2000 Olympics, but weeks before the trials, she suffered a serious back injury, that shattered her future in the sport and any hope of an Olympic victory. Roach left the world of weightlifting behind, started a business and had a family, but she still yearned to compete. In 2006 she underwent state of the art back surgery, and began to compete again. Now she's back, and once again ranked number one in her weight class. She's ready for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and has her heart set on the gold.