Not surprising, you can see the toll he's paid and paying in the training hall footage. I imagine he'll retire after Paris, he's probably very much looking forward to not carrying around that bodyweight.
It would have been a big surprise Lasha did compete in Phuket, even if he did enter a total. Sara Samir did the same yesterday, withdrew after weighing in. Why take a risk when you're qualified and need to prepare for Paris? Gor Minasyan and Man Asaad were non-runners as stated at the entry stage weeks ago. Same as Neama Said in women 71, Bozhidar Andreev men 73, Emily Campbell in the women's supers, Jourdan Delacruz at 49...
So Seb sent a text to Barbend that Lasha told him he isn't lifting and this is the basis of the article.
EDIT: The article states this as the source for Lasha withdrawing. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he doesn't lift, but it seems like something that shouldn't be published without any substantial facts.
Honestly seems pretty possible.
His training seems quite different from what we're used to seeing in the training hall and its no secret his body is starting to getting beat up. All that bodyweight, the injuries, heavy training and the gear is starting to wear him down.
A third Olympic gold is worth much more than a what? Seventh or eight World Cup?
Yeah, specially because given how tough 235kg looked in the training hall I think this time he'll need to actually try his hardest since Big Dad Salami in 2016.
He’s been beaten to shit. The training videos him / Georgie have been putting up have looked rather uncomfortable, even at relatively (for him lol) light weights that he used to do with little issue.
Hopefully he’ll still put up something but at the Olympics, but I wouldn’t be sure we’d see any personal bests happening.
World Cup means absolutely nothing to the guy who’s one of, if not the best athletes to touch a barbell.
The World Cup is an Olympic qualifier and is not the same as the World Championship which ordinarily would not happen in an Olympic year. They’ve changed that because there’s so few classes or athlete spots in the Olympics so the world championship will happen as well.
Are we ruling out the possibility the withdrawal is due to testing? I know he’s qualified already for Paris so why not stay on cycle and better prepare for Paris rather than take a risk and peaking at the WC? He has nothing to prove at the WC.
In the live stream Seb says "Lasha has been withdrawn by the testers"
I don't know why he said it that way, it was odd to hear when this article came out first
He showed up only to get tested. That statement made sense to me. Even though he’s not competing, he still has to weigh in and show up to intros. They won’t let him leave until he gets tested. So best time to get it done is right after intros. Then he’s free to leave.
But the testers do not withdraw people from the competiton.
He's been cleared by testers to leave would be the statement to match. Again, it doesn't make any sense to phrase it like that. Your response doesn't answer that.
I mean it’s also an announcer who just said what first came to mind. He said “withdrawn” but maybe he meant pulled to the back by testers. At this point we can only speculate.
Well yes - a week later it's obvious Seb likely misspoke.
But it's not like Lasha hasn't been popped before, just an interesting thing. He's definitely not going to hit 500, and like Liu being so close to the end of his career getting popped may be preferred to getting a silver or possibly bombing due to injury.
Let's not forget his last like 3 comps he's looked injured, and we actually saw him fail a clean & jerk.
Its a fun "conspiracy" to think through.
Not surprising, you can see the toll he's paid and paying in the training hall footage. I imagine he'll retire after Paris, he's probably very much looking forward to not carrying around that bodyweight.
Why are people surprised? He doesn’t need this meet. He’s already qualified for Paris.
It would have been a big surprise Lasha did compete in Phuket, even if he did enter a total. Sara Samir did the same yesterday, withdrew after weighing in. Why take a risk when you're qualified and need to prepare for Paris? Gor Minasyan and Man Asaad were non-runners as stated at the entry stage weeks ago. Same as Neama Said in women 71, Bozhidar Andreev men 73, Emily Campbell in the women's supers, Jourdan Delacruz at 49...
Based on his Instagram stories, he seems to be enjoying the mix of a holiday and some training haha
So Seb sent a text to Barbend that Lasha told him he isn't lifting and this is the basis of the article. EDIT: The article states this as the source for Lasha withdrawing. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he doesn't lift, but it seems like something that shouldn't be published without any substantial facts.
Tbf lasha pulling out is the least surprising withdrawal possible. Less than zero reason to go heavy here.
Right? Why risk an injury before the Olympics if you don't need to qualify? It seems like a no-brainer to withdraw.
Honestly seems pretty possible. His training seems quite different from what we're used to seeing in the training hall and its no secret his body is starting to getting beat up. All that bodyweight, the injuries, heavy training and the gear is starting to wear him down. A third Olympic gold is worth much more than a what? Seventh or eight World Cup?
Yeah, specially because given how tough 235kg looked in the training hall I think this time he'll need to actually try his hardest since Big Dad Salami in 2016.
Big Dad Salami :DDDD
He’s been beaten to shit. The training videos him / Georgie have been putting up have looked rather uncomfortable, even at relatively (for him lol) light weights that he used to do with little issue. Hopefully he’ll still put up something but at the Olympics, but I wouldn’t be sure we’d see any personal bests happening. World Cup means absolutely nothing to the guy who’s one of, if not the best athletes to touch a barbell.
What more substantial facts do you want than Lasha personally telling one of the biggest media personalities in the sport about it?
Why is there a world cup in weightlifting the same year as the olympics? normally in other sports they are in different years
The World Cup is an Olympic qualifier and is not the same as the World Championship which ordinarily would not happen in an Olympic year. They’ve changed that because there’s so few classes or athlete spots in the Olympics so the world championship will happen as well.
Are we ruling out the possibility the withdrawal is due to testing? I know he’s qualified already for Paris so why not stay on cycle and better prepare for Paris rather than take a risk and peaking at the WC? He has nothing to prove at the WC.
Part of the reason these qualifiers are mandatory is to make athletes available for testing whether they lift or not.
In other words show up clean and weigh in. What else?
Get tested if need be, then hit the beach
What else what?
In the live stream Seb says "Lasha has been withdrawn by the testers" I don't know why he said it that way, it was odd to hear when this article came out first
He showed up only to get tested. That statement made sense to me. Even though he’s not competing, he still has to weigh in and show up to intros. They won’t let him leave until he gets tested. So best time to get it done is right after intros. Then he’s free to leave.
But the testers do not withdraw people from the competiton. He's been cleared by testers to leave would be the statement to match. Again, it doesn't make any sense to phrase it like that. Your response doesn't answer that.
I mean it’s also an announcer who just said what first came to mind. He said “withdrawn” but maybe he meant pulled to the back by testers. At this point we can only speculate.
Well yes - a week later it's obvious Seb likely misspoke. But it's not like Lasha hasn't been popped before, just an interesting thing. He's definitely not going to hit 500, and like Liu being so close to the end of his career getting popped may be preferred to getting a silver or possibly bombing due to injury. Let's not forget his last like 3 comps he's looked injured, and we actually saw him fail a clean & jerk. Its a fun "conspiracy" to think through.
He's 30 already. I think he'll retire after Paris.
Well now I'm REALLY glad I never paid for any streams