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Akbar Djuraev returned to his best weight and posted two world records to dominate a  top-class field at 110kg on the penultimate day of the IWF World Championships in Forde, Norway. Djuraev finished 13kg clear and it could have been more but for a bizarre final attempt.

Alireza Nasiri from Iran took second place despite failing with his first two attempts, finishing off with junior world records in clean and jerk, and total. That made it three world records in two days for Iran.

There was another large crowd at Fordehuset to watch Djuraev’s masterclass – but not as many as the full house of 1,700 who watched the earlier super-heavyweight B Group. The big attraction was local plumber Ragnar Holme, who hit his highest total after putting training ahead of plumbing in his preparations.

Djuraev was never seriously challenged despite the presence of his team-mate Ruslan Nurudinov, an Olympic champion in 2016, and the Armenians Simon Martirosyan and Garik Karapetyan, both multiple champions.

Akbar Djuraev (UZB)

He broke the snatch world record with his third attempt, bettered the total on his fifth and needed 6kg more on his final attempt to complete the sweep. Instead he went up 13kg to 245kg, got the bar above his knees, dropped it and smiled to the crowd. He was just messing around.

That was quite a contrast to what happened in Paris last year, when Djuraev was in tears and could not speak for half an hour after he failed with two attempts to win Olympic gold at 102kg. “That’s why I have silver and not gold,” he said. “Maybe the weight categories will change again (for Los Angeles 2028) and I will get the result.”

They have done, and he probably will. “I am back at my right weight. I can eat properly, train properly. I feel good, very happy,” he said after posting 196-232-428.

Alireza Nasiri (IRI)

Alireza, 20, made 184-231-415, a superb performance when he might have bombed out. Nurudinov made four from six for 186-228-414 in third.

The expected strong challenge from Armenia never got off the ground. Martirosyan, an Olympic silver medallist who has not won since 2019, bombed out in snatch and Karapetyan would have joined him but for making his third attempt. He was fourth with a snatch bronze and two good lifts on 187-220-407.

Luis Manuel Lauret, lifting for Romania, took silver in snatch on 188kg but then bombed out in clean and jerk.

Marcos Ruiz from Spain made an impressive personal best of 185-221-406 in fifth place, at the age of 30. His hopes for the Paris Olympic Games were wrecked by injury, and his reaction to his successful last lift showed what it meant to be back at his best.

Kolbi Ferguson, one of the host nation’s young hopefuls for the Los Angeles Olympics, recovered after missing his first two snatches to set an American clean and jerk record on 174-222-396. He topped the B Group and finished seventh, one place better than last year.

Dagnar Holme (NOR)

In the sold-out +110 B Group, Holme was cheered to a career-best 178-210-388. Among those watching was Sindre Rorstadbotnen, a Forde landscape gardener who was the local star when the European Championships came to town in 2016. The biggest crowd of the week back then was a full house for a C Group featuring Sindre.

Norway’s home hero on Thursday, Olympic and world champion Solfrid Koanda, is an electrician. Norwegian weightlifters are clearly multi-talented, as well as big box office.

Kamil Kucera from Czechia, the oldest athlete at the Championships, said the crowd’s support was “amazing” as he finished 5kg behind Holme and 9kg behind the Group winner Vladyslav Prylypko from Ukraine.

Kamil Kucera (CZE)

The Paris Olympian from Czechia was 40 in March. “I was in pain on that last attempt,” he said while pressing an ice pack to his hip. “It’s a chronic problem but I hope to recover over the coming months and be ready to start the qualification programme for Los Angeles.

“If I can stay clear of injuries I will keep going. I want to try for the Olympics again.”

When he does finally retire, Kucera knows what he wants to do – run a darts club. He is a very keen and accomplished darts player and is already in the process of opening a club in Prague.

Kucera had already lifted three times at the World Juniors before the youngest super-heavyweight in Forde, 17-year-old Bakari Turmanidze from Georgia, was born.

He says he still has “plenty of energy and motivation” because he had a long break from the sport for personal and financial reasons. At international level, he was absent for 10 years but he has been an ever-present since 2015.

The Mexican Karim Saadi had to drink a lot of water to make it on to the platform. He was a couple of kilos underweight and by the time he had bulked up he was one gram over the 110kg lower limit.

By Brian Oliver

Photos by Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia