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Edinboro Athletic Press Release Index
EDINBORO, PA - Neither of Edinboro University's competitors at the 2004 Paralympic Games were able to medal in the powerlifting competition. Competing in Athens, Greece at the Nikia Olympic Weightlifting Hall, Matt Aldridge placed ninth in the 100kg class while Mary Stack failed to register a successful lift in the 82.5kg women's competition.
Aldridge, from York, South Carolina, had previously set a national record with a lift of 445 lbs. earlier in the year. He placed ninth among the 16 competitors after finishing with a lift of 190kg on his first attempt. He failed twice at 202.5kg.
Iran's Kazem Rajabigolojeh won the gold medal with a world record lift of 242.5kg. Nigeria's Solomon Ikechukwu Amarakuo won the silver medal at 235.0kg, and Li Bing of China was the bronze medalist with a lift of 232.5kg.
Aldridge had previously competed in the 2002 World Championships in Malaysia, where he captured 10th place, and in the 2003 Pan American Games in McAllister, Oklahoma, where he finished first.
Stack, from Royal Oak, Michigan, was unable to register a successful lift in three attempts, failing once at 102.5kg and twice at 105.0kg. The two-time Paralympian appeared to successfully finish her third lift at 105.0kg, or 231.2 lbs., but the officials ruled her attempt unsuccessful for what appeared to be a double hit of her chest during her effort to raise the bar. Had the lift counted she would have placed fourth among the seven competitors.
Of the 21 attempted lifts, only five were successful. Emma Brown of Great Britain repeated as the gold medalist with a lift of 130kg (286.5 lbs.). France's Carine Burgy took the silver medal (while Egypts Abd Elaty was the bronze medalist.
Stack finished fifth in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia. In 2001 she was inducted into the Michigan Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame.
~ Fighting Scots ~
Edinboro Athletic Press Release Index
Created on ... September 27, 2004