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USOC gives Nott her gold Associated Press SYDNEY, Australia -- The "Star-Spangled Banner" finally sounded for Tara Nott. The first woman to win an Olympic gold medal for weightlifting finally received her medal Saturday at a ceremony held by the U.S. Olympic Committee. It was a ceremony delayed nearly a week due to the drug disqualification of the Bulgarian woman first proclaimed the victor in the Sept. 17 competition in the 105-pound class. "This is not about winning by default. This is about winning the right way," said Norman Blake, the USOC secretary-general who finally slipped the medal over Nott's head. The 28-year-old weightlifter stepped atop a small red platform, swallowed hard and fought back tears as the American anthem finally played and friends cheered. Nott, who grew up in Stillwell, Kansas, and who now lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., became the first American to win Olympic weightlifting gold in 40 years. She also is the first woman from any nation to win in weightlifting, a sport introduced to the Olympics this year. "It's a huge thing and it will be in the history books forever," said Jim Fox, executive director of USA Weightlifting. Nott also may have set an Olympic record for medal ceremonies. She received the silver in a ceremony at the competition site. But the International Olympic Committee announced Friday that it had stripped apparent winner Izabela Dragneva of the medal for failing a drug test. Later that day, the IOC handed the medal to a U.S. team official in a ceremony at the Olympic athletes' village -- an event Nott skipped so she could attend a competition to cheer for teammate Cheryl Haworth, who won a bronze medal. "It made me feel special that she'd want to watch her teammate lift instead of getting a gold medal," Haworth said. To compensate, U.S. officials held a further ceremony Saturday at an auditorium in North Sydney, across the harbor from the Olympic events. If the U.S. flag competed with the triple-striped logo of a shoe company for prominence on the platform, it was still an emotional moment for Nott, whose parents sat in the front row. "I'm very happy to receive it, this way or at the competition," Nott said. "What is important to me is to be able to do this in front of family and friends." |  | ALSO SEE Forget ceremony, it's time to watch friends Teenager Haworth grabs a bronze medal More Bulgarians test positive, leaving a gold for the U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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