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China entered with two athletes, 25 years old Su Dajin and 27 years old Lu Xiaojun. Their strongest rivals were title holder Martirosyan (ARM) and Olympic Champion Sa Jaehyouk (KOR). It really needs an outstanding Hollywood scenarist’s imagination to set a stronger field in 77kg.
Lu and Su proved themselves to be very strong when they were able to perform correction within an attempt.

Heaviest of all Martirosyan was very close to Snatch 168kg but finally failed. World Record holder of Snatch, Lu was in an excellent shape edging out his rivals by 4kg. At his last attempt the question was open whether he would catch first place or just the third? 170kg was not insolvable for him. Sa’s handicap at that time was not more than 13kg comparing to the lead and 9kg distance from bronze medal position. And he was heavier than both Chinese lifters.

Armenian Martirosyan looked unsure during the whole competition and he remained on 190kg, his opening Clean and Jerk. Lu, Su and Sa had a memorable fight. The three outstanding athletes attacked Perepetchenov’s 210kg World Record (Perepetchenov’s World Record stood up to all 211 kg attempts and this way he became a winner as well). A World Record attempt was needed at the 77kg competition to capture the final victory but all three missed it. Lu’s Clean was brilliant, but he couldn’t complete the Jerk. By the way the Chinese and Martirosyan performed squat jerk.
With a Total of 360kg Sa won the bronze medal. With a Clean and Jerk of 206 kg Su got a gold, and with a Total of 372kg he became the silver medallist. Lu won gold in Total with 375kg.

Men’s 77kg Press Conference:

The audience at Disneyland weightlifting hall witnessed a most challenging competition so far, as three weightlifters of 77kg category decided to break the records of Clean and Jerk.

Speaking at the press conference, Chinese gold medalist Lu Xiaojun hoped that the same four medallists will compete also at the coming London Olympics. Believing: “the fight among professional athletes would be very stimulating”.
Being asked for his opinion, why none of the 77kg athletes could make three correct lifts, Lu stressed it was quite normal in weightlifting and it was because of the high standards of the competitions.

China’s silver medalist Su Dajin also declared he was excited about the fierce competition among the 77kg weightlifters and hoped to compete against the same medallists in a very near future.

Korea’s bronze medallist Sa Jaehyouk talked about the five operations he had during his career, including two serious operations on his shoulder, and that he could not prepare himself completely for the World Championships.
He highlighted that winning medals at 2012 Olympics would depend very much on the trainings of the athletes, and then wished good luck for all the competitors at 77kg weight class.

Meanwhile, Su Dajin expressed his sorrow over Sa’s injuries, wishing he would recover soon and compete with each other in the coming competitions.
Armenia’s Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan, bronze medallist in Snatch, also said he felt so sad after hearing about Sa’s serious operations, adding Sa was an excellent weightlifter and would definitely repeat his great performances.

Armenian Martirosyan said after Antalya World Championships he had two serious injuries and for six months he had to undergo medical treatments.