Henry Can’t Carry Weight As U.S. Suffers Letdown

It could be said that weightlifter Mark Henry had the biggest disappointment of the Olympic Games.

After all, the 401-pounder from Silsbee, Texas, was the heaviest of the 10,750 athletes competing in 26 sports. And he came here with hype even more outsized than his dimensions.

He finished 14th in the superheavyweight competition Tuesday afternoon, when he was forced to retire early with a back injury. The next weight Henry lifts will be one of the fat paychecks from what he said was a multi-million-dollar, 10-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation.

Some might say he is going from Olympic curiosity to a full-time freak show.

Henry’s girth and his winning personality gave him far more buildup than someone who finished 15th in the last world championships might expect or deserve. From “Oprah” to U.S. News & World Report, there was endless fascination with the gentle giant.

“That personality is something I was born with,” Henry said. “I don’t sit around and practice being me.”

Critics contend he spent more time being a celebrity than practicing his sport. Henry, 25, said the burden of his fame was not what led him to attempt a weight he never had lifted before - 407-3/4 pounds - for his final lift in the snatch portion of the competition.

The choice seemed surprising, since he had failed to match his U.S. record of 396-3/4 on his previous lift and could have tried it again. He nearly made it, but he also strained a muscle in his lower back trying. A team doctor told him not to continue, but Henry made one successful attempt in the clean-and-jerk before withdrawing.

“I did what I had to do,” Henry said. “That lift would have put me right in the thick of things. I made that attempt so I could hang with the big boys in the sport.”

In this competition, the drama was as big as its actors.

On his final lift, 1992 silver medalist Ronny Weller of Germany hoisted 562 pounds to go into first place, determined by the combined snatch and clean-and-jerk weights. Weller was so overwhelmed he toppled over backward, then got up, removed his shoes and threw each into a different section of fans.

That left Andrey Chemerkin of Russia, the reigning world champion, who needed to break his own clean-and-jerk world record of 558-3/4 to win the gold. Chemerkin lifted 573 pounds for a total of 1,008-1/2, giving him victory by 5-1/2 pounds.

Henry lifted 832, well under his considerable capabilities.

“I think I will go home a hero,” said Henry, 10th in the 1992 Olympics. “The medals are what you are judged by as an athlete. The lifting I did here today judged me as a person and a good teammate.

“I’m disappointed for myself but I am more disappointed for my team. A high finish would have shut up the critics as far as the U.S. being a little country as far as weightlifting.

“I felt I had a little extra to do. It just didn’t happen today.”

Henry did not rule out another Olympic try in 2000. He said the WWF contract gives him two four-week periods when “I can compete as an athlete, not a wrestler.”

“I always dreamed of winning a medal,” he said, “but I would have settled for doing the best I had ever done. What I did was the best I could under the circumstances.

“I’m going home to get a little ego stroking. I’m feeling a little down right now.”

Big men may cry.