JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================s" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?l^!QOM ÀHt?JѮ ŢQ b bL W99>etZ-x"D&bp֋s/ J4J'kAo#+/g,LsIt[aѧj}orA9IG=}ฝ[LQIXtSb=l x z֥l*̩(HswoYKcTW;5JRa2]̱: 4d0+ f d_&bb}*-y\6NT[:^* G ;ݎERN~WQ_E66RjOq>u{ \B mMEf70<kBRw{˨Eݬo-,ī1EۉΝqI+2)8IXl5DS 9F=qX:e{,ay[,u=T9p#Pp2*<5GyvDo+t=JFؕ.BAF?*lu΋4P;Ne--{k-э'*9*6ӿ ߽d8;+oho 7Re0XkQttVP7)RI7qY|a<ݷY6oHkk͔@qQ5ךpvCk- $#WvE ŚŮ Ko9a =GT/e a觵~~cz7oְ"ָq"/2=fcutd{L!q댿LWOi6;qK^0ؤpq՛ Oy;=9LM.\ʧV'US{zf19`&x}弚[䙗ss\O4Z:M(UK8*kWwFDX;=qv!Cx(hOCh,ﮡp]fNiX܃U=mq6L@7Je-0{YX͒G(ToXj*M^R@uNW]',1q2zQhe P6#ުW0P&7ڄLjD^n u}{VTU;c+siRihӓ5u|>rEEy 溳5*c5 6XRI Tfpx$z /}Z̍.ӑXt Cs`I1*pIu9Y8ƩpZr{O麵ٶۃr}+o!ԭm 04- [zEbbgPǷSJ˙ gVxu)-Hv a/>jVpf5Y9|槼665ͩ%ූN;w/#U8  Su-Mk,BFB QGFǾ iLDuKW™r3k(szb!'fw>.VFN? 돮CpXV'LOzHKjS(ڐN8TpGH8)a1 Uw4slfj7$-j:FM#CT`z:29:V;Xͤ;z$&A+ݶ^XҙT@#4$R{XhVFſNLWO(\{Cer;{խrG|Qv3ަUƐnܒ+r朦'ܸ1B)H'),QѲ@A,p1,Ų )&U9$>9=9~@j< It took many years for the Olympic lifting federations to recognize that women needed a separate set of rules. Like male coaches who are bewildered over how to train their female athletes, the decision-makers in weightlifting dealt with the problem by having women follow the same rules as the men. This decision didn't do women any favors.<br><br>The Evolution of Acceptance<br><br>In weightlifting, each athlete is given three attempts in each of the two lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk. The first hurdle that women faced was the rule that they must increase their weights by five kilos (11 pounds) between their first and second attempts. That may not seem like much, but it can be a major ordeal for the average female.<br>To keep the math simple, we'll use a 99-pound female who is trying to snatch her bodyweight (something that even our super-heavyweight Mark Henry didn't accomplish in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics). Our female lifter would most likely start with 83 pounds (37.5 kilos) for her first attempt, for the simple reason that anything less would be ludicrous. For her second attempt she would have to jump to at least 94 pounds (42.5 kilos), then finish with 99 pounds (45 kilos). Coaches who are used to athletes who weigh closer to 200 pounds than 100 pounds may see nothing wrong with such a progression. However, if the same increases were imposed proportionately on a male trying to snatch 300 pounds, he would have to start with 255 pounds followed by 285, a jump that would be regarded as excessive when you consider the technical differences between lifting the two weights. Then for his final attempt, he would jump 15 pounds to reach 300, a jump that in a tight competition many coaches would consider excessive.<br>To their credit, the international weightlifting powers eventually recognized this problem and allowed 2.5-kilo (5.5-pound) jumps between the first and second attempts. These small increments made it easier for beginning-level women to compete, and also made for more interesting competitive strategies for both men and women lifters.<br>Also to the sport's credit, after a brief period in which a record had to be broken by 2.5 kilos (5.5 pounds), it went back to allowing world records to be broken by .5 kilos (1.1 pounds) to enhance the sport's progression. As an analogy, can you imagine how the 100-meter sprint (or for that matter any running event