Zhang Xiangsen

Who is Zhang Xiangsen?

Zhang Xiangsen is a male weightlifter from PR China. He competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and won a silver medal in the men's 56 kg division. His snatch of 130 kg was rated as the "best saved lift of all time" by the International Weightlifting Federation. Zhang's famous ability to enter an intense trance-like state before attempting a lift was rumored to be due to heavy methamphetamine use. Coaches say, in his intense training efforts leading up to the 1996 games, Zhang used an electric wheelchair to transport his body between the gymnasium and his apartment in an effort to conserve energy. Xiangsen was known to sleep with three 25 kilogram discs on his chest to become intimately familiar with the sensation of being crushed by weights, and hence to remove any element of fear from his psyche.