Sport of Weightlifting/ Young people in Korça confess their passion

2024-06-29 11:27:00, Sport CNA

Sport of Weightlifting/ Young people in Korça confess their passion

Coach Olsi Xurre

The sport of weightlifting is considered the most popular among other disciplines, as a sport that entertains and develops the physical and psychological abilities of athletes. This sport is one of the first sports to be introduced to the Modern Olympic Games in 1896.

Korça is known as a city where the sports side has also developed a lot, starting with football, volleyball, continuing with tennis and the sport of shot put, but the sport of weightlifting requires special attention.

In the "Tamara Nikolla" Sports Palace in the city, a gym has been built where some young people are trained in weightlifting by coach Olsi Xurre. CNA stayed for a training session with the young athletes, who have shown a lot of will and passion in this sport, although the conditions in which they train are not sufficient.

We started the conversation with coach Xurre, who first told us how the passion for weightlifting was born. Although times have changed according to the coach, he tries to continue this tradition in his city.

"I started my career as a sportsman in 1992, unfortunately I continued until 1998 after I left the sport after some problems. I started as a coach in 2017 with the club of Skenderbeu. The sport of weightlifting for me is a passion, I still continue I train athletes with this passion. Despite the fact that times have changed and we are in a bit of trouble, we try to continue the tradition in our city.

The trend of athletes choosing weightlifting seems to be decreasing every year. Almost half of the athletes have left for a period of one year, while for the coach, the conditions in which they train have a lot of influence.

"Unfortunately, almost here in Korça, despite some small promotions we have done, it is very difficult to absorb new athletes. Currently I have only 4 athletes, last year I had 8, one went to Tirana as a student, two left and one was withdrawn for reasons of motivation. This cannot be called a gym. We have asked for this several times, but so far nothing has been done in this gym people at the same time. If there are more, it is a load and the exercise cannot be carried out."

Weightlifting is a sport that requires technique in lifting a barbell, and this technique is easier to pick up at a young age.

Arselijo Muça is a 13-year-old sportsman who, in three years of his commitment to this sport, has managed to win 3 medals. He says that weightlifting is a very interesting sport for him, while he wants to become a champion in the future.

Sport of Weightlifting/ Young people in Korça confess their passion

"I have been doing this sport for three years. It seemed an interesting sport to me and I continued it. Because I was younger, I also picked up the technique very quickly. It is a little difficult, but with the technique I have, I am fine. I have participated in the U15 championships, I have received 3 medals so far, 2 first place and 1 second place."

For 14-year-old Rigers Tanasica, his passion for weightlifting started when he watched videos of his cousin as an athlete. He has been training for 3 years, achieving good results, while aiming like any athlete to reach the top. Among other things, Rigersi calls on young people to become active with this sport.

Sport of Weightlifting/ Young people in Korça confess their passion

"I had a cousin here and when I watched him with the videos he showed me, I went after him and thought I would try it as a sport. I entered since 2021 and I haven't left. These 3 years have been very beautiful, with results not very high but good. In my opinion, I have learned the techniques and it is not very difficult. I want to continue it as a sport. Young people should follow it it's a beautiful sport and it helps us for our health."

Sabian Demçe has been part of the sport of weightlifting for 1 year, a sport he started at the age of 14 and continues to live with. Concentration is what weightlifting requires, thus overcoming the difficulty.

Sport of Weightlifting/ Young people in Korça confess their passion

"I have been in weightlifting since 2023, 1 year. I had my friend, I watched it as a beautiful sport. It is not very difficult as a sport, it just requires concentration. In Durrës, I came in second place in the activity of organized. The conditions are not very sufficient here because the gym is not very good, we need a new gym."

The little athletes are quite satisfied with this sport, even when we ask them about the difficulty, they make the technique even easier. Even coach Olsi Xurre shows that weightlifting looks like a heavy sport, but in fact it is not. If you get the right technique, you can do very well, says Olsi, while showing that in the competition there is no physical contact with the opponent as in other sports, but you are there to show yourself.

"This sport is not difficult at all, the idea has been created that weightlifting is a heavy sport. Even children who are having fun do not let their parents go, or when they find out that they have started weightlifting training, they stop them from coming. The technique is a bit difficult however, at a young age it is possible to catch and walk very well. It is a very good sport in terms of opponents, as in other sports that have physical contact are always respected. It is known that the best wins, there are no tricks in this sport."

Promotion and support for young athletes, and more specifically for those who train in weightlifting, should be greater. Weightlifting is truly an adrenaline sport, as difficult as it is beautiful, but it needs more promotion in order to attract young people to this sport./ CNA