OM Yun Chol (PRK)
Men’s 56kg “My plan to lift in the Group B to make my opponents nervous worked 100%. I feel very satisfied and happy about my
CHINSHANLO Zulfiya (KAZ)
Women’s 53kg “Right after the competition I’ve got a call from the President of Kazakhstan who congratulated me on my victory. I am very proud to have given pleasure to my
WANG Mingjuan (CHN)
Women’s 48kg “To succeed and stand on the top of the podium you need 70% hard work and 30% of
Sensational Om eclipses favourite
Om Yun Chol claimed gold in sensational style after double world champion and pre-competition favourite Wu Jingbiao failed to make his last lift in a thrilling finale to the men's Weightlifting 56kg category. Amazingly, Om, from DPR Korea, triumphed from the morning's B group - supposedly for second-tier lifters - and was present in the stands to watch China's Wu fall agonisingly short. Om, only the fifth man in history to lift triple his own body weight, put in a sensational performance as he equalled the world record and set a new Olympic best in the clean and jerk element (168kg). His overall total of 293kg was four kilos more than managed by Wu (289kg), who had to settle for silver, with fellow A group lifter Valentin Hristov, 18, claiming bronze - a first-ever weightlifting Olympic Games medal for Azerbaijan. Source: London
Records fall as Chinshanlo takes gold
Kazakhstan's Zulfiya Chinshanlo won Weightlifting gold in the women's 53kg, setting new Olympic and world records in the process. Chinshanlo lifted 131kg in the clean and jerk - a new Olympic and world best - to set a total 226kg - another Olympic record. The reigning world champion, who turned 19 this week, had earlier produced a snatch of 95kg. Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, Sebastian Coe, was watching and said afterwards: 'You don't see world records every week. It was a fantastic piece of sport.' Hsu Shu-Ching, from Chinese Taipei, edged silver ahead of Republic of Moldova's Cristina Iovu by the slimmest of margins. Having tied with a total of 219kg, Hsu's marginally lighter bodyweight saw her push Iovu into the bronze-medal position. In the morning's 53kg Group B, Vietnam's Thi Thuy Nguyen edged Yu Weili, from Hong Kong, also by the virtue of a lighter bodyweight after they both tied on a total of 195kg. They sealed eighth and ninth place respectively following the Group A competition. Chinshanlo was congratulated by Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev at the ExCeL after being presented with the gold medal. 'He came and said congratulations, but I won't tell you how much money he will give me. I am afraid I will be robbed,' laughed Chinshanlo. Hsu was also overjoyed to be heading home with a silver medal. She said: 'I am so happy I don't have the words to describe it.' Third-placed Iovu claimed Moldova's first-ever Weightlifting medal. 'I am very, very happy, I couldn't be happier,' she said. 'Of course it would have been brilliant to come second but it was difficult and the weights were heavy.' Source: London
Wang claims first Weightlifting gold
China's Wang Mingjuan claimed the first Weightlifting gold medal of the 2012 Olympic Games in the women's 48kg weight category at ExCeL. The four-time world champion went into her first Games as the overwhelming favourite having not been defeated in international competition since winning her first world title in 2002. The 26-year-old triumphed with a combined total of 205kg, snatch 91kg and clean and jerk 114kg. Japan's Hiromi Miyake claimed silver with a total of 197kg (snatch 87kg and clean and jerk 110kg). Miyake, daughter of Mexico 1968 bronze medallist Yoshiyuki Miyake, finished sixth four years ago in Beijing and ninth in 2004. The bronze medal went to Ryang Chun Hwa, 21, of DPR Korea, with a total lift of 192kg (snatch 80kg and clean and jerk 112kg). But Wang's gold continues China's recent domination of the sport, with the nation claiming eight of the 15 golds on offer at Beijing 2008. Sirivimon Pramongkhol, a 17-year-old from Thailand, finished fourth while Turkey's Nurdan Karagoz had to settle for fifth. Thailand's Panida Khamsri, a strong contender to challenge Wang having claimed silver at last year's World Championships, was a surprise casualty as she crashed out early on. Having come close to suffering a dislocation of her right elbow in her first snatch, Khamsri failed to record a good lift in her subsequent two attempts. Source: London
