Nick Mangold proud of sister Holley

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LONDON -- More than a dozen members of Holley Mangold's family watched her finish 10th in weightlifting at the London Olympics on Sunday. Perhaps none were as proud as her brother Nick, star center for the New York Jets.

"The fact that she has only been doing this for a handful of years and here she is on a world stage at the Olympics competing -- I think that's fantastic," said Nick Mangold, who left training camp to see his sister compete.

"She has the world in front of her. If she continues with it, I think she can do some great things," he said.

He joined his parents, two sisters and nine other members of their family in the crowd at the ExCeL arena in London. He will fly back to the United States on Monday morning.

The 22-year-old Holley Mangold didn't have a perfect competition. She hurt her right wrist in the snatch portion and came out for the clean and jerk portion wearing a bandage. Then the back of her uniform ripped.

She lifted 105 kilograms in the snatch and 135 kilograms in the clean and jerk for a total of 240 kilograms. That's just over 529 pounds -- and still 30 pounds below her personal best.

She said she fought through pain and was proud because she had not lifted more than 80 kilograms in the past two or three weeks.

"About two days before I left for London, I tore a tendon in my hand catching the clean wrong, and I think I retore it again today," she said.

She said she only found out her brother was coming to watch her when he posted the news on Twitter.

"He's a very supportive brother," she said. "I can turn to him when I need him, and it's great having him here."

Nick Mangold said whether to come to London was a difficult decision "because I didn't want to leave my team, but once the guys pushed me into it and said they didn't mind me going I decided to come."

Their mother, Therese, said it was "incredible" to see Holley at the Olympics, and even better that her son could make it, too. She said she understood the pressure he was under as a Jet.

"My son went to the Pro Bowl this year, and my daughter is at the Olympics I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

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