Shane Hamman
Encyclopedia
Shane Hamman is an American
Olympic
weightlifter.
and was a standout for two years on the freshman and varsity
squads. He also wrestled his junior year.
Hamman grew strong lifting large pallets of produce for his father's fruit market. During high school, he had broken several teenage records. He trained as a powerlifter
after high school, but after seeing the 1996 Summer Olympics
, he decided to switch his career to Olympic-style weightlifting.
. Since 1997, with the exception of 2002, he has won a gold medal at every American Senior National Championship. From 2004 he holds every American weightlifting record in his class.
He competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics
and finished 10th. In the qualifying for the Olympics, during the 2003 World Championships, on his final lift he single-handedly secured three spots for athletes from the U.S. in the 2004 Summer Olympics
. In the Olympics, he finished 7th in his weight category, setting a new American record with his total of 430 kg and his clean and jerk
of 237.5 kg.
Aside from his weightlifting prowess, Hamman also plays basketball
and golf
. Despite his 350 pound (160 kg) frame, he can hit a golf ball 350 yards (320 m), do a standing back flip, and leap vertically three feet (0.9 m).
Hamman has retired from Olympic weightlifting, and sometimes appears as an announcer in events like the Olympics in 2008 for NBC
.
Hamman is now focusing on helping others. He gives speeches at various high schools about his career and what it took to get Olympian status. Hamman also visits high schools to promote "Rachel's Challenge
", a program for which he is a spokesperson.
His greatest squat
was 457.5 kg at the International Powerlifting Federation
world championships, which is more than anyone has ever squatted in the IPF. The IPF allows relatively little supportive equipment and has very strict rules.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
weightlifter.
Early years
Shane Hamman began to play soccer at the age of 6 until he was 12 years old. In his freshman year of high school, Hamman began footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and was a standout for two years on the freshman and varsity
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
squads. He also wrestled his junior year.
Hamman grew strong lifting large pallets of produce for his father's fruit market. During high school, he had broken several teenage records. He trained as a powerlifter
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
after high school, but after seeing the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, he decided to switch his career to Olympic-style weightlifting.
Life
Hamman is sometimes called the strongest man in AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since 1997, with the exception of 2002, he has won a gold medal at every American Senior National Championship. From 2004 he holds every American weightlifting record in his class.
He competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and finished 10th. In the qualifying for the Olympics, during the 2003 World Championships, on his final lift he single-handedly secured three spots for athletes from the U.S. in the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
. In the Olympics, he finished 7th in his weight category, setting a new American record with his total of 430 kg and his clean and jerk
Clean and jerk
The clean and jerk is one of the two Olympic weightlifting events .The clean portion of the lift refers to the lifter explosively pulling the weight from the floor to a racked position across deltoids and clavicles...
of 237.5 kg.
Aside from his weightlifting prowess, Hamman also plays basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. Despite his 350 pound (160 kg) frame, he can hit a golf ball 350 yards (320 m), do a standing back flip, and leap vertically three feet (0.9 m).
Hamman has retired from Olympic weightlifting, and sometimes appears as an announcer in events like the Olympics in 2008 for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Hamman is now focusing on helping others. He gives speeches at various high schools about his career and what it took to get Olympian status. Hamman also visits high schools to promote "Rachel's Challenge
Rachel's Challenge
Rachel's Challenge is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political organization. It is led by Rachel Scott's father, Darrell, along with Rachel Scott's step-mom, Sandy.-Darrell Scott and Rachel's Challenge:...
", a program for which he is a spokesperson.
His greatest squat
Squat
The word squat, squatter or squatting can refer to:* Squatting, living in an abandoned or unused building, sometimes for political purposes...
was 457.5 kg at the International Powerlifting Federation
International Powerlifting Federation
The International Powerlifting Federation is an international governing body for the sport of powerlifting as recognized by the General Association of International Sports Federations as well as the International Olympic Committee via inclusion into the World Games.The IPF was founded in 1971, and...
world championships, which is more than anyone has ever squatted in the IPF. The IPF allows relatively little supportive equipment and has very strict rules.