TEAM RUSSIA

No longer the weightlifting behemoth of the past, Russia still figures to be a top medal contender in the coming weeks. Men's team coach David Rigert recently announced that he believes his team will win six medals, and that every Russian lifter can compete for silver or better. Russia has chosen to include some familiar faces (including two former Olympic medalists) and feature some surprising "young blood" as it positions itself for Beijing and beyond. In depth team profile below:



Women's Team

Mariana Shainova (58kg)
Since winning bronze at her first World Championships in 2005, Shainova has picked up two golds at Europeans (2006 and 2007). At the 2007 Worlds, she won silver, losing by 1 kilo in a close battle with China's Qui Hongmei . With China's decission to field a 58kg competitor, expect Shainova to face a tough battle for gold.

Svetlana Tsarukaeva (63kg)

Tsarukaeva won silver at the World Championships in 2006 as a 58kg lifter. Moving up to the 63kg class, she repeated her second place finish at Worlds in 2007 with a 250kg total. Tsarukaeva has one thing to look forward to - there will be no Chinese competitors in her category this year.

Oxana Slivenko (69kg)

Slivenko has established her name in the 69kg weightclass, surprising many with a gold medal performance in her first ever senior worlds competition in 2006. After a second first place finish at the 2007 European Championships, Slivenko set a world record in the total (276kg) at the 2007 Worlds in Chiang Mai, Thailand to win her thirld gold two years.

Nadeza Evstyukhina (75kg)

The youngest women's competitor (born 1988) and most surprising choice, Evstyukhina placed second overall in her first World Championships in 2006, and won gold in the snatch. But at the 2007 Worlds, she placed third, with first place going to CHN's Cao Lei, and second going to her teammate and world record holder Natalia Zabolotania. Zabolotania, who tied the gold medal total (but lost due to bodyweight) at the 2004 games, was expected to be the Russia's representative in the 75kg class. Though plagued by injuries in 2006, Zabolotania's strong showing at Worlds in 2007 should have cemented her slot for Beijing. Apparently, Zabolotania's refusal to compete in Russian Nationals earlier this year (for reasons unknown) resulted in her removal from the team.

MEN'S TEAM

Oleg Perepetchenov (77kg)

The most experienced member of the Russian team and an Athens bronze medalist, Perepetchenov makes most lifts look effortless. His achilees heel is the jerk, which has never been consistent. In 2001, Perepetechenov clean and jerked 210 at the European Championships. Since then, he has not come close to jerking that same number, but remains a strong medal contender. He won gold at European Championships this year with a 362kg total, and will need to improve upon those numbers if he wants gold in Beijing.

Khadjimourad Akkaev (94kg)

After a silver medal performance (405kg total) in Athens, Akkaev went completely off the radar. The reason? A doping violation in 2005 resulted in a two year ban, effectively removing him from international competition until 2008. What effect, if any, the ban has had on Akkaev's lifting is unknown. Considering his slot on the Olympic team, however, we can expect that he will be a medal contender.

Roman Konstantinov (94kg)

Konstantinov surprised many at the 2006 Worlds with a bronze medal total (392kg) while lifting in the B class. With a second place finish at the 2007 Europeans and a gold medal performance (177+220=397kg) at the Worlds later that year, Konstaninov showed that he is very capable of contending for a medal in the stacked 94kg class in Beijing.

Dmitry Klokov (105kg)

Klokov won gold at the World Championships in the 105kg weight class in 2005 (Doha, Qatar), lifting 192kg in the snatch and 227 kg in the clean and jerk for a 419kg total. In 2006 and 2007 he placed third at the World Championships. He beat out an injured Dmitry Berstov (2004 Olympic Champion) and the always inconsistent Gleb Pisarevsky for his position on the Olympic team.

Dmitry Lapikov (105kg)

Lapikov took second place at the 2006 World Championships with a 194kg snatch and 220kg clean and jerk for a combined total of 414kg. He is very capable of breaking the world record in the snatch but will need to set an international competition PR in the clean and jerk in order to contend for a medal.

Evgeny Chigishev (105+)

Chigishev, a snatch specialist, won gold in the discipline at the 2005 World Championships with a mind boggling 211kg lift. Even so, his performance was only enough for a second place finish to the great (and now retired) Hossein Rezazadeh. Chigishev seems to be capable of snatching 205kg+ on any given day. He will need to go in to the clean and jerks with a formidable lead in order to have a shot at gold because of his relatively weak clean and jerk.