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In the weightlifting Olympic story, among the countries with one single medal at the Games, three of them have another common characteristic: that podium presence is the only one for the nation, all sports included, in their respective Olympic trajectory. These countries are Iraq, Samoa, and Turkmenistan. The most recent case comes precisely from Polina Guryeva (photo), who earned in Tokyo 2020ne the sole medal so far in the history of her nation, Turkmenistan. Competing in the women’s 59kg category, she earned silver after lifting 96-121-217, an achievement that brought her the highest recognition from the Turkmen authorities: she was offered a new apartment and car upon her return to Ashgabat. Born in October 1999, she never replicated this success on a later stage: having gained weight and moved to the 76kg category, she was 20th at the 2023 IWF Worlds in Riyadh (KSA) and seventh at the 2024 Asian Championships. In Beijing 2008, Ele Opeloge clinched the sole medal so far in the Olympic history of Samoa: lifting in the women’s +75kg, she initially finished fourth, but was upgraded to second after two athletes tested positive for prohibited substances. Going back even further, we arrive at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In the men’s 67.5kg category, Abdul-Wahid Aziz will achieve an unparalleled feat in the history of Iraq so far: an Olympic medal! After lifting 117.5-115-147.5-380, he got the bronze medal. One year earlier, at the World Championships in Warsaw (POL), the Iraqi star was also third, with a Total of 105-112.5-145-362.5.