Heavy weights, broad shoulders

Four years older and 40 kilograms 88 pounds bulkier, Germany8217;s Matthias Steiner enters...

Four years older and 40 kilograms 88 pounds bulkier, Germany8217;s Matthias Steiner enters his second Olympics craving the adrenaline rush of competing for the heaviest title in weightlifting.

The 24-year-old muscleman is among the front-runners for the gold medal on Tuesday in the men8217;s super heavyweight class, a title that carries with it the bragging rights of being the world8217;s strongest man.

8220;I8217;m in good shape,8221; Steiner said before a training session Monday. 8220;I8217;ve had good training the last month. We are prepared for this. I think.8221;

Steiner has overcome great adversity since placing seventh in the 105-kilogram category in Athens 2004, where he was competing for his native Austria.

He changed his citizenship to German after a falling-out with the Austrian Weightlifting Federation. Then last year, tragedy struck when his wife died in a car accident.

The hardship seems only to have helped him focus on the sport.

Steiner went on to set a personal-best total of 451 kg 994.3 pounds 8212; the weight of a small cow 8212; in qualifying for the Olympics. That8217;s nearly 50 kg over 100 pounds more than he lifted as a regular heavyweight in 2004.

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8220;Until Athens, I was always trying hard to lose weight to stay below 105 kg. But I couldn8217;t lose weight any more,8221; he said.

That8217;s a problem he no longer has to worry about since there is no upper weight limit in the super heavyweight class.

Built like a tank, Steiner now weighs 145 kg 320 pounds, slightly more than Scerbatihs but less than Ukraine8217;s Artem Udachyn, another medal contender.

He expected that a total of 455 kg 1,003 pounds would be needed to medal in Beijing. The total score adds the heaviest weights lifted in the two events: snatch and clean and jerk.

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That8217;s a lot more than he takes in training, but Steiner said he cannot find the willpower needed to take the biggest weights unless he8217;s competing.

8220;Some lifters take more in training, but I need the adrenaline of the competition,8221; he said.

Missing from the competition is weightlifting legend Hossein Rezazadeh, who announced his retirement before the Olympics after doctors said his health was in danger. Also known as the 8220;Iranian Hercules,8221; Rezazadeh won gold in the past two Olympics and holds the world records for snatch, clean and jerk and total.

Steiner said he understood Rezazadeh8217;s decision. 8220;He8217;s quitting as double Olympic champion,8221; Steiner said. 8220;That8217;s a good way to be remembered.8221;