Jets' Nick Mangold will watch his sister compete in London
Holley Mangold, of the United States, chalks her hands in the weightlifting training area at the 2012 Summer Olympics. (July 26, 2012) Credit: AP
CORTLAND, N.Y. -- When Holley Mangold competes in the women's weightlifting competition Sunday, her brother will be watching -- in person.
After months of insisting he wouldn't skip out of Jets training camp for the overseas trip to see his sister in the Olympics, the center was at the airport Saturday morning.
"Anyone wanna guess where I'm heading? Thanks Rex, Woody, Mike and the rest of the @nyjets! Go @HolleyMangold!" Mangold tweeted, including a picture from the airport terminal.
Holley, 22, played football in high school and began lifting in 2008. She and Sarah Robles, both in the plus-75 kilogram (165 pounds-plus) division, are the only U.S. women weightlifters to qualify for the London Games.
Her main competition will come from South Korea's Jang Mi-Ran, a two-time Olympic medalist, and China's Lulu Zhou, the 2011 World and Asian champion.
The event (watch for shots of Nick rooting Holley on) will be shown on Ch. 4 from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.
Despite Jets coach Rex Ryan's encouragement, Nick Mangold repeatedly had said he would not be able to see his sister compete because he was committed to his teammates.
But Ryan apparently is a master of persuasion.
"I had nothing to do with it but suggest the obvious," Ryan said Saturday. "The fact that his sister is competing in the Olympics is an amazing thing, so yeah, I'm happy he's going. No question."
Even Mangold's teammates got on his case.
Jets left guard Matt Slauson said Friday that Mangold "absolutely" should go see his little sister compete in the Olympics. "I don't know how you could pass that up," he said.
He didn't.
