Matthias Steiner won the weightlifting gold medal after his wife’s death
Germany’s #MatthiasSteiner in the men’s 105 kg #weightlifting category at the 2008 #Beijing #Olympic #Games, when he stepped on the stage, the bronze medal was certain, but considering his distance from the first place, he had to ask for 10 kg more weight for the #gold medal.
He could easily not be there at all because his wife had died in a car accident the year before.
He said in 2014: “After that incident, I had to make a decision, either give it all up or keep lifting weights. But I came to the conclusion that if I give it up, it won’t change what happened.”
He went on to climb the final podium and lift the weight over his head to claim the gold medal.
On the podium, he posed for a photo with his medal in one hand and a photo of his wife, Susan, in the other.
“I wanted to show everyone that I didn’t want to stand there alone,” he said.
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