Monday: Powerlifting
Early on Monday morning I saw a tweet with a link to a live video stream for powerlifting. I figured I’d give it a shot since I could watch it from my living room.
The lifting wasn’t terribly exciting to me. Everything from fairly small amounts to 155 kg (roughly 341 lbs) was lifted in various competitions. What I did really enjoy watching was the awards ceremony afterwards.
The awards started out a bit rocky, with winners being lined up in the wrong order and thus standing in the wrong spots, but after a few awards they had that sorted out.
There are two reasons I really loved the awards.
First, one of the presenters was Michael Sarver. Sarver was a top 10 finalist for the eighth season of American Idol and was one of the celebrities to perform at the opening ceremony. I was happy to see that he stayed past the opening ceremony and is helping out with at least one competition.
Second, the athletes show amazing sportsmanship. During the awards, I saw them applaud for each other, shake hands, fist bump, give each other high fives, pat each other on the back, and encourage the audience to cheer for one another. I am, admittedly, not a sports person, but I don’t recall seeing so much support for competitors as I did during the lifting awards.
