Óscar Figueroa, an Colombian weightlifter the most inspiring sports person and unsung hero who came out of all odds and made a stellar history and sets a milestone on having the never give up attitude. He was born in Cali, and a Latin American who belongs to a small village and his family job is to work in the mining industry for survival, once he decided that this is not the life he wanted to prolong.
Oscar began his weightlifter career in his childhood by training in government training centres of Colombia. his skills and stability made him to become a shooting star and he got named in major sports events such as Athens debut match which he got ranking 5th in overall championship, on 2008 Pan American weightlifting championship he got gold on 56kg weightlifting event, this sets him the road for becoming the candidate for Colombia Olympic team.
Then, later got an golden opportunity to participate in Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, with all his years of experience in weight-lifting he came to stage his first attempt, with dust of coating powder in his hands he gripped the weightlifting bar, with calm and confident but while uplifting he slipped the bar in half a way, with infinite frustration and hell of pains went to backstage and getting motivated by his coach to try the second attempt and the crowd boosted him with Spanish word Vamos [come on!] and then he gripped the bar, unluckily in the second attempt also he failed with slip and made wrist off, this time he felt very low, with last chance to prove himself he staged third attempt to make a clean jerk but failure repeats, he got ashamed and suffered intolerable tragedy and returned homeland after his drastic failure.
The media and sports authorities of Colombia were against him and the public also believed that he was rebellious and did not want to compete. But later on medical tests was taken and found that cervical hernia on his backbones which was the reason for his fail in Beijing Olympics, the doctors advised to make a quick surgery and hereafter not to continue career in weight lifting, this words buried him more than his injuries and pains, after successful operation he was getting to heal from injury, months later Oscar began his hard-core practices and trained hard with his chronic injury, to lead on Olympic games for his country.
Later, Oscar was given a chance to compete in next Olympics that held on London 2012, this time with more pain physically and mentally he made his first attempt on holding bars with more vigorous and done his uplifting with clean jerk on 144 kg category but failed in first two attempt and in final attempt made a successful clean jerk and overall he weight-lifted 317 kg which bagged him silver medal, the entire crowd was overwhelmed on his success by overcoming his medical traumas and failures but, Oscar Figueroa was not satisfied with silver medal and said that his goal was to achieve only gold for his country.
As the scenes go on, the Colombian sports authority and international weightlifting federation decides to retire him on regarding his health collapse but he requested the committee to chance him next Rio Olympics held at Brazil 2016, this time he went on another severe surgery due to rupture of his lumbar hernia due to hard-core trainings and in most times felt needles of pain in his back which gave him sleepless nights and doctors warned not to participate on lifting weights, inspite of the cautions, he completely surrendered himself to achieve his dream and pushed himself with extraordinary muscles with the pains and tears, finally the day came to get a fruit for all his hardship, in 62 kg division, he totally made a clean jerk of 318 kg which assured his gold, where the competition was heavy for the gold to win because on his final round his opponent was world number one champion in weightlifting of Indonesia, with believing in hands of God he uplifted with clean jerk and bagged gold medal for his country and he finally removed his shoes off signalling of his retirement, knelt down and celebrated his historic retirement by winning finally gold after 12 years with a never give up attitude.
His success story is the lesson for any upcoming athletes and others who weathers their dream to achieve their goals. On some events of failure and tragedy we give up our goals and feel completely lost, but this olympian grinds us an epic history of how to be a warrior in hectic times and execute our talent to the world.
By Mohammed Razick
