weight lifting venue

The weight lifting crew spent yesterday and Wednesday at the venue. It was really cool to get there finally, as the rest of the Newcastle group had been at their venues for a while. I think our team will be pretty good, our manager seems pretty cool. On both days we've gone out for a massive lunch, more Peking Duck, and just really good food. 

While security is tight to get in (some of those people get a little too probing with those metal detecting wands) the venue is pretty relaxed at the moment. 

And here is a photo of the next lifter from Australia, coming down the actual tunnel that the lifters will.

Said lifter was having a little bit of difficulty on the snatch, on the actual competition stage. The barbell itself weighs 20 kg! And then the things to keep the weights on are another 2.5 kg each. Can he do it?
And here's one for all you lady fans (Mum and Fel), the lifter gets the massively stacked barbell over his head, whilst simultaneously showing his midriff and undies.
Here we see the lifter working the media at the press conference after his excellent performance. What a pro.

The venue is really cool. At first I was a little bummed about getting weight lifting, but now I'm really excited. I think it's a much more relaxed venue than some of the other higher profile sports. And yeh, the team seems really cool. Our Sports Information Specialist (SIS) is an Aussie who won silver at the Los Angeles games in 1984. He also won two gold and one silver Commonwealth medal. Seems like a really nice guy.

Got the day off today, and am living it up doing my washing! As of tomorrow it's at the venue everyday until the start of the games, so it's getting serious now!