A BIZARRE moment in the Women’s Weightlifting at the Paris Olympics saw competitors repeatedly slapped in the face by their coaches.
Two competitors in the final event were being spurred on by their team by getting hit before each lift attempt.
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Chinese star Li Wenwen and Ecuador‘s Lisseth Ayovi were both trying the unusual technique to help psych them up for the mammoth lifts.
Both athletes would be slapped round the face by their coaches immediately before heading out to hoist the insane weights, while they were also seen screaming to get hyped for their turn.
The method may seem concerning, but is a normal practice for weightlifters who have to make sure they are fully alert before taking to the bar.
The Women’s +81kg event saw competitors lift in excess of 300KG in a bid to win medals.
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And some fans watching on from home loved the extra drama that the slap-happy coaches added to the sport.
On social media, one wrote: “I love the weightlifters. Before they go out they scream and some little men slap them!”
While another added: “I love weightlifting so much, the screams, the slaps etc.”
And a third questioned whether stars would become used to the pre-lift motivation, writing: “I realise that it’s all supposed to be motivational, but there must come a point where the lifters become immune to all the slapping and screaming and it just becomes ritual.”
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The method clearly worked for Li Wenwen, with the Chinese competitor winding up winning gold thanks to her efforts.
The 24-year-old lifted a whopping 309kg aloft – more than DOUBLE her body weight.
While Ecuador’s Ayvoi narrowly missed out on a podium spot in fourth place after her 283kg effort.
South Korea‘s Park Hye-Jeong won silver with her 299kg lift, and there was more medal glory for Team GB thanks to Emily Campbell’s 288kg pump.
Campbell adds a second Olympic medal to her collection after winning silver in the +81kg in Tokyo, where she became Britain’s first ever woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal.
Campbell, sporting her iconic technicolour hair, said: “We’ve achieved this goal of a medal in Paris. I just got a bonus one along the way in Tokyo.
“This one came from the heart. I knew I had to bring out the big guns today in a tougher field. It was a PB performance, so I cannot complain.
“I have been away for a while and these girls have forgotten what I could do. I wanted to remind them. My Tokyo medal’s got a friend now.”
Campbell was fully energised, thanks to her 3,300-calories-per-day diet and ability to sleep anytime, anywhere.
And with the medal won, partying Campbell was in the mood to show off her acrobatics… and is ready to do the same in the BBC ballroom.
She added: “Obviously it was the best cartwheel you’ve ever seen. It was a tribute to my coach.
“We’re very silly in training. We have a bit of fun, I did it one day and he said I needed to do it after a last clean and jerk. Where better than the Olympics?”
Campbell then joked: “If Strictly want me, I wouldn’t say no.”
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