Melanie Roach: Comeback PRs and 6 for 6 at the 2007 World Championships!

Congratulations to my friend Melanie Roach, who just had a lifetime best performance in an international competition! This 32 y.o. mother of 3 and small business owner has come back from back surgery (herniated disc) 11 months ago to place 12th/44 in the tough 53 kg weight class at the World Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Now older, wiser and more focused than ever, Melanie is relishing this journey in life and making every choice count. She and Coach John Thrush should be so very proud of this achievement! They are truly class people, with wisdom and perseverance beyond compare.

Let me share with you this email Melanie sent to her many friends and fans this morning from Chiang Mai:
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I just competed in my 5th World Championships in Chaing Mai, Thailand

It was an incredible experience that I will remember for the rest of my life!

Weighing in at 52.75 kilos I posted the highest total I've ever done in international competition. I successfully made all 6 attempts, also a first for me.

My lifts were:

Snatch 74 kilos, 77 kilos, 79 kilos
Clean and Jerk 105 kilos, 107 kilos, 110 kilos

With a 189 total, I finished 12th out of 44 competitors

189 is 7 kilos more than I did in July at the Pan American Games and only 3 kilos off the American Record I set in 1998.

The coaches chose my attempts based on what was needed to acquire valuable team points. Our placing as a team will determine how many Olympic slots we will have for next years Olympics in Beijing.

Words cannot explain how amazing it felt to put together my biggest lifts in the biggest competition of my life! I truly enjoyed every minute!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It's been A HUGE group effort! Thank you to everyone who is making this Olympic pursuit possible!

Thank you to Dan, my sweetheart and biggest fan for coming all the way to Thailand to cheer me on! You ROCK! :-*

Thank you to our moms and papa roach for taking care of the kids!

Thank you to John Thrush, my long time coach who at times this training cycle I thought was CRAZY and now realize he is actually a genius! :-D

Thank you to Dr. Summers who keeps these old bones young! To think I almost quit because of the pain in my back. Thank you for everything!

Thank you to the all my teammates of the Calpian Weightlifting Club who make great training partners and inspire me to keep pushing everyday!

Thank you Tracy for coming out to Washington to video my lifts! The coaches couldn't believe the difference in my snatches! Yeah!

Thank you Mel J. for running Roach Gymnastics! This wouldn't be possible without you Mel!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Awesome performance.
4:17 PM
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