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August 13th, 2008
01:19 PM ET
Former Olympian on watching this year's OlympicsFormer 92 and 96 Olympian Mark Henry still competes in front of thousands of people every week. Instead of lifting weights for a medal, he is now lifting bodies as a superstar for the WWE. Henry, The Worlds Strongest Man, is currently the ECW Heavyweight Champion.  Making the transition in 1996 from weightlifting, an anaerobic sport, to the WWE, an aerobic sport, was not an easy task for Mark. “I went from one extreme to another and I sucked,” says Henry. Over the course of the last 12 years with multiple injuries and setbacks, Henry has become a household name within the professional wrestling world.  While Mark is done competing, he hopes that future athletes are taken care of better at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “I hope that at some point that Olympic athletes don’t have to do what Oscar De La Hoya and I had to do by climbing over the fence at the Olympic training center and putting our money together to buy chicken. If you are an Olympic athlete you shouldn’t have to worry about bills or where you next meal is coming from,” says Henry. Henry is going to watch team handball, swimming, basketball, and of course weightlifting in-between punishing his opponents in the ring.
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He is just a likeable guy, get him on “Dancing With the Stars”
Contrast his Olympic talent, acrobatcs, to be taught Dirty Dancing next ?
Wrestling with reality, Woman to tie him up into a pretzel, emotionally ?
You people have to be kidding. First off, that Mark is a big time eater, is no secret, since he's a big guy. What about De La Hoya? Are you calling him a big time eater too? You people are just ridiculous!
Regarding the wrestling discussion, I hope to God that you are not serious. Wrestling... What a joke. What's next? Praising how good and beneficial lip synching is to the entertainment industry. You just don't introduce any stunts that gathers people around in the Olympic Games. I suppose you are thinking Jerry Springer caliber food fight as well. About redneck mud diving, huh. You idiots need to stop putting your two cents into things that are way beyond your intellect. The Olympic Games are for real. They are not spectacles.......... get it? Now, I just got a food for thought. Ever notice how mediocre your Wrestling tough guys fare when it comes to real competitions like UFC and such. I hope I have put this discussion to rest once and for all,
I like to watch basketball, but not enough contact. Mark Henry crossed over from one to another sport. From brute stength to acrobatic finesse. Ask him, what about wrestling ball. The rules would be complicated, cannot kill or injure. Pin your opponent, or toss him around into a giant laundry basket.
@ Adam these Olympians have been caught doping: Lyudmila Blonska, Fani Halkia, Kim Jong Su, Isabel Moreno and Thi Ngan Thuong Do. At least with wrestling we know it's fake so the only person hurt is the one taking it. In the Olympic arena and professional basketball, football, etc., how's it fair to the other competitors who don't dope?
Duh! America knows pro wrestling is fake and is for entertainment purposes only.
For those naysayers I'd like to see you jump off a turnbuckle and flip onto an oppenent the way Jeff Hardy does. It takes a lot of skill and athletic ability to do what they do along with making it appear real. It is a bummer that there are those who choose to take steroids in hopes of having a big career but guys like Hardy and Rey Mysterio have proved that wrong. No one will ever compare to The Rock and his awesome matches and humorous mic skills.
I had no idea Mark Henry was a former Olympian. Glad to have him in the wrestling world 🙂
I'm not sure what they did then, but the Olympic Training Center does feed it's athletes well.
His problem was probably the fact that the cafeteria closes at 8pm every night so there is no access to food after that point. For someone who is as huge as he is, he's probably one of those late night snackers that couldn't get his fix.
It's ridiculous to complain, when you receive, breakfast, lunch and dinner and any snacks you may need throughout the day
You guys are aware that pro wrestling is fake, and is just for entertainment, right?
I mean, if you care THAT much about a scripted outcome, why don't you go to the directors and producers and get these guys tested, then re-write the scripts yourself?
Adam, Tom Johnson...you two are ridiculous.
I, as millions of other Americans, never ever have taken " professional wrestling" seriously. Having these "athletes" start taking drug and steroid tests should be mandatory if they want to be considered seriously. Based on the deaths in this arena as a result of drugs and steroids tells me that testing will never happen.
HAHAHAH Cmon man you cant be serious. Those guys are a joke!! If it werent for steroids half those guys would be skinny little punks and nothings. Wrestling is a joke
Good job Chris.
Olympics needs more of a carnival atmosphere,
Serious survival of ancient history is fine, but add hot dog eating, beer guzzling
Changing a tire, catching an identity thief, predicting the pollution index.
Greatest splash from a belly flop, car racing, all are modern survivor events
Professional Wrestlers are the real acrobats, medals denied.