Michaela Breeze injury

British weightlifter finishes seventh despite competing with back injury

Michaela Breeze, the British representative in the female weightlifting competition at the Beijing Olympics, finished seventh after completing the competition despite a severe back injury.

Breeze went into the competition with the injury but was determined to finish despite experiencing chronic back pain throughout. She fell to the floor and wept after finishing the competition and recieved a standing ovation from the crowd.

Back injuries

Weightlifters like Michaela Breeze put a tremendous amount of strain on all the muscles in their body, especially the back.

The snatch and the clean and jerk routines both require an immense amount of back strength and as Breeze entered the competition already experiencing back problems, she was always likely to aggrevate the injury.

Watch an example of the clean and jerk in the video below: