New Zealand weightlifter Stanislav Chalaev. Photo / Greg Bowker
Kiwi weightlifter Stanislav Chalaev would like to retain the results but change the process the next time he competes at an international event.
Having sealed a second straight Commonwealth Games silver medal at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow yesterday, the Russian-born lifter has shown he is a man who thrives
in adversity.
It would be better, however, if the next Games - or perhaps the 2016 Olympics - features a more settled build-up than what he experienced four years ago in Delhi or in the months leading up to Glasgow.
Chalaev emerged from the last Games as one of the most inspirational figures in the Kiwi team, taking with him to the podium a photo of the mother he had lost earlier in the year. The tears flowed both on and off stage that night and, while eyes stayed dry in the Kiwi camp this time around, Chalaev again overcame a difficult lead-in period.
In the four years since Delhi, the 27-year-old has been fit to enter just two competitions, such was the poor state of his knees. Each of the joints has endured major surgery, the last of which was in December, and Chalaev booked his ticket to Glasgow only six weeks ago.
