This past weekend at APA Worlds, many impressive lifts were completed by some fantastic lifters, however, the attempts stirring the most controversy over the internet turned out to be accidents.  Amit Sapir, multiple world record holder, had to bail on 347.5kg (766lbs) on his second AND third attempt. The video of Amit's final attempt has gone viral as rumors spread that he not only turned around and berated the spotter after he dumped the weight, but also got indefinitely banned from this federation thereafter.

View his first attempt here. 

View his second attempt here. 

As visible in the second video, Amit dumps the weight, turns around and speaks to the spotters - although what he is saying cannot quite be made out.

Amit addressed the rumors on his personal facebook page:

"I did not yell at or blame spotters yesterday (at all) - what may look like this in a video is merely my own self-frustration, and I have not been banned from ANY federation to date."

If Amit's words don't hold enough value, the back spotter, Jordan Stanton, posted a comment along with the video above:

"I knew that this was going to be an issue, and I am glad that I caught it on camera. Amit Sapir dropped his squat on the platform at APA Worlds. Instant drama as people are apt to. The truth is he did not blame the spotters, he did not say anything negative to the spotters while I was on the platform with him. He blamed himself...Honestly I took the brunt of the hit obviously and I don't hold anything personal against him. He apologized to me and we moved on...I support KSL for the disqualification because no one wants to see people get hurt...I guess my reflexes were a little slow today but besides a couple bruises I am doing fine."

So to address the rumors of Amit's negative comments towards the spotters - these rumors simply are not true. As for the ban, John Hare (an APA judge at the meet) posted a comment on the video saying:

"He is NOT banned from future meets. He is a great lifter and will be setting records again before you know it." 

We at elitefts are very thankful to learn that neither Amit nor the spotters or spectators were seriously injured, and we are also relieved and happy to report that Amit may continue to compete within this federation. This incident shows the importance of taking adequate safety measures to protect and ensure the safety of athletes and spotters alike. As always, elitefts recommends the use of safety straps when squatting in a monolift as well as properly affixing monolifts to the ground. Safety straps can be found here.

Sources:

  • https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009614975715&fref=nf&pnref=story
  • https://www.facebook.com/100009614975715/videos/1669384233392060/
  • https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002200161892&fref=ufi&pnref=story

Allison is an intern at EliteFTS. She recently graduated from The Ohio State University with a BS in nutrition and a minor in business. Allison hopes to become a marketer for a fitness or nutrition company.