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Bomb-out, then a world record for teenager Nasar at weightlifting World Championships

By Brian Oliver Karlos NASAR (BUL) missed all three of his snatch attempts but broke the 89kg clean and jerk world record by 3kg on another remarkable day at the IWF World Championships in Bogotá, Colombia. The Olympic 96kg silver medallist Keydomar VALLENILLA (VEN) won the contest on total with a career-best 175-210-385 at this weight. “I’m so pleased with this,” he said, clutching his gold medal. “This is the first (world title) for Venezuela.” Vallenilla’s best clean and jerk was 10kg lower than Nasar’s, but the Bulgarian was already out of the running on total after those snatch failures. He had prepared for competing in the world’s fifth highest capital city by training for 40 days at mid-altitude in Bulgaria but, he said, he had been badly affected by the recent death of a close friend. Nasar, who was 18 last week, made 212kg with his first clean and jerk before failing with a junior world record attempt at 217kg. He went for 220kg on his final attempt to take the senior world record from Antonino PIZZOLATO (ITA), who was not fit to compete here. Why so high, when 218kg would have been enough for the record? “I have lifted 225kg in training many times, and I went all or nothing,” he said. His record-breaking lift took the clean and jerk gold ahead of LIU Huanhua (CHN) on 215kg and Brayan RODALLEGAS (COL) on 211kg. Rodallegas was third in snatch and clean and jerk, and second overall on 170-211-381, the same total as bronze medallist Liu, who was 9kg behind in the snatch on 166kg but made all three clean and jerks. Liu’s final effort at 215kg denied Kianoush ROSTAMI (IRI) a bronze medal on total. Rostami, who won at 85kg at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, took a silver medal in the snatch and finished fourth on total with 174-206-380. He had failed to qualify for Tokyo because of injury and a missed entry deadline, and said before competition that he was feeling good after two months of intense training. Afterwards he said he was “pleased for my country and myself”. Two of China’s top athletes withdrew at the last moment on the day, TIAN Tao (CHN) from the 89kg and SHI Zhiyong (CHN) from the 81kg. Tian Tao explained on social media that it was a strategy to wait for the time when the athletes feel in their best form to make a big total, because only their best performance will count in qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Both Shi Zhiyong and Tian Tao abided by the qualifying rules by participating at the IWF World Championships, the first Paris 2024 qualifying event, by weighing in and being introduced to the audience. That was the first of five and now they must participate in four more qualifying events, two of which are compulsory, the 2023 IWF World Championships in Saudi Arabia and the 2024 IWF World Cup in Thailand. The other two can be chosen from continental championships in 2023 and 2024, and IWF Grands Prix in Cuba and Qatar next year. “The strategy is simple – to catch one of the five events when I am on the best form,” he said on social media. Tian Tao said he had been feeling the effects of altitude in Bogotá, and Shi Zhiyong said he had been injured. In Shi Zhiyong’s absence in the 81kg category, China still won. LI Dayin (CHN), who said he will be going up to the Olympic weight category of 89kg, built a lead of 7kg in the snatch by making 171kg, which is 4kg below his own world record. He made 171-201-372 to finish ahead of Rejepbay REJEPOV (TKM) on 164-202-366 and KIM Woo Jae (KOR) on 162-195-357. It was the same finishing order in the snatch. In the clean and jerk Rejepov won gold, Li silver, and Andres CAICEDO (COL) bronze with 197kg. Rejepov went for double glory on his final attempt, a clean and jerk world record of 209kg that would have given him victory on total. He cleaned it but could not complete the lift, and slammed the platform in frustration. "I was so close," he said

Record-breaking teenager Pei wins world title in first international competition

By Brian Oliver PEI Xinyi (CHN), who is young enough to compete as a youth, won a senior world title in her first international competition at the IWF World Championships in Bogotá, Colombia. Pei, who was 17 in October, set a youth world record with her first ever lift, bettered it and secured a snatch gold medal with her second, and bettered it yet again with her third to build a lead of 4kg half-way through the women’s 64kg A Group. There were two more record-breaking lifts as Pei made a sweep of youth world records and claimed victory on 105-128-233. Pei failed with her final attempt of 135kg but still finished well ahead of Rattanawan WAMALUN (THA) on 101-126-227 and the Pan American champion Nathalia LLAMOSA (COL) on 101-123-224. What made Pei’s performance even more impressive is that she is really a 59kg lifter. She was deliberately entered in the less pressurised 64kg for her first competition, and weighed in at 59.3kg. That means she was giving away more 4kg in weight advantage to most of her rivals. If Pei had been 300 grammes lighter and competed instead at 59kg here on Thursday, a repeat of her 105-128-233 performance would have put her ahead of two Olympic champions, KUO Hsing-Chun (TPE) and Maude CHARRON (CAN), as well as two of her senior team-mates, LUO Shifang (CHN) and LUO Xiaomin (CHN). Wang Guoxin, coach of the China women’s team, said before the World Championships that he would not put too much pressure on the young lifters and would encourage them to learn through competitions. “Our goal at the World Championships is to let athletes gradually find their rhythm of competing in major events,” he said last week. Did it work for Pei? “Yes, I was nervous at the start, but very happy,” she said, before confirming that she will now return to 59kg. She is the youngest member of China’s national team, which she joined in December last year. “I have learned a lot from elder members of the team, they teach me about things I don’t know and help me a lot,” Pei said. “They have helped me to grow up and be more confident.” Pei, who has no history of weightlifting in her family, took up the sport at junior school in 2014 before becoming a youth champion in Zhejiang Province in 2016.  Now, at her first attempt, she is a senior world champion. Women 64kg Total Podium @IWF Llamosa took silver in the snatch and bronze in clean and jerk, while Wamalun had bronze in snatch and silver in clean and jerk. The European and Asian champions Mariia HANHUR (UKR) and PHAM Thi Hong (VIE) both failed to make a total in a session that featured as many no-lifts as good

Rahmat Erwin makes history with world record and gold from B Group

By Brian Oliver at Gran Carpa Américas Corferias in Bogotá Rahmat Erwin ABDULLAH (INA) won a gold medal and set a world record from the B Group in the men’s 73kg at the IWF World Championships in Bogotá, Colombia. “It’s amazing – nobody has ever done that before at the World Championships,” said the IWF President Mohamed Jalood. Rahmat’s team-mate Rizki JUNIANSYAH (INA) finished second on total. Lifting in the A Group, he went for 198kg with his final attempt to overtake Rahmat and improve two of his own junior world records, but he failed. Five of the A Group lifters failed to make a total, including two medallists from the Tokyo Olympic Games, Julio MAYORA (VEN) and Mirko ZANNI (ITA). There was another last-lift victory for the host nation in the day’s other medal event at 67kg, and another Olympic champion was beaten, making it three in two days. Rahmat made his world record clean and jerk of 200kg at the second attempt. “I have done it in training and I’m very happy, but it was very hard,” said Rahmat, who was so exhausted he was flat out on the ground for six minutes in the warm-up area afterwards. He won a bronze medal in Tokyo from a B Group and said the decision to try it again was “strategy, not injury”. He lifted 22kg more than his entry total. Rahmat made 152-200-352, Juniansyah 155-192-347 and bronze medallist Alexey CHURKIN (KAZ) made 153-190-343. Churkin also competed in the B Group, which produced three of the top five on total. The finishing order in the snatch was Juniansyah on 155kg, Bozhidar ANDREEV (BUL) on 154kg, and Churkin on 153kg. In the clean and jerk it was Rahmat, Juniansyah and Churkin, with the B Group lifter Masanori MIYAMOTO (JPN) fourth on 187kg. In the men’s 67kg Francisco MOSQUERA (COL) had two chances to overtake the Tokyo champion Chen LIJUN (CHN) in a tense contest in which the top four finishers were separated by only 4kg. He got the bar above his head at the first attempt but dropped it, then came back and made it to earn a huge cheer from the home crowd. After making the winning lift and throughout the medal ceremony, which featured five lifters, Mosquera kept throwing his arms wide and blowing kisses to a section of the crowd where his wife, son, mother and trainer were sitting. This win was the highlight of his career and he said, “They have been there for me through this process, good times and bad, and I want to thank them and God.” Mosquera, 30, made a career-best total of 325kg and is hoping he will get another chance at glory by competing at the Olympic Games for the first time at Paris 2024, for which this was the first qualifying event. “I could not be in Tokyo last year (Colombia was restricted to only three places because of a long and complicated doping dispute) but in Paris I hope the federation will select me,” he said. Chen won the snatch with 148kg and started early and low in the clean and jerk. He led Mosquera, who was fourth at half-way, by 5kg. The silver and bronze snatch medals both went to Thailand, to Witsanu CHANTRI (THA) on 144kg and 18-year-old Weeraphon WICHUMA (THA) on 143kg. Chen, 29, finished 15kg below his best total on 148-176-324, and six of his rivals had 12 lifts to come between them. He had to wait 18 minutes, during which time 20-year old Fehmi GENC (TUR) guaranteed gold in clean and jerk on 182kg, the number Mosquera needed for victory. Mosquera made it with the final lift of the session to finish 143-182-325. Wichuma made 143-180-323, and Genc was fourth on

Colombians celebrate as Alvarez beats two Olympic champions

By Brian Oliver Yenny ALVAREZ (COL) defeated two Olympic champions and sent a crowd of 1,800 noisy spectators into wild celebrations when she became the host nation’s first champion of the week at the IWF World Championships in Bogotá. Alvarez made her final lift of 133kg to claim the biggest win of her career, the 59kg world title. It brought the crowd to their feet and Alvarez said, “It was so good to win for these people in my home country. I am so passionate about this sport.” The 59kg Olympic champion Kuo was second and the 64kg winner in Tokyo last year, Maude CHARRON (CAN), was third in a very entertaining session that, unlike others before it, had far more good lifts than no-lifts. In the week before the World Championships, hosted by Colombia for the first time, Alvarez  had said, “I want to be a world and Olympic champion and to be an example for future generations.” She has lived up to the first part. At last year’s IWF World Championships in Uzbekistan, Alvarez finished second to Kuo and made career-best numbers in snatch, clean and jerk and total. Last night she beat all of them to make 101-133-234. That final lift improved her best clean and jerk by 6kg. Kuo, whose only other defeat in the past six years came when she went up to 64kg and found DENG Wei (CHN) in world-record form, was a more than gracious loser. She waited in the warm-up room for Alvarez to return from the platform after that winning lift and applauded her. “I am happy with my performance because I have had injuries, I had a lot of home time during Covid and I will do better in my next competition,” said Kuo. She said she had expected a very strong challenge “from Colombia and from Luo Shifang from China – she’s very young for me!” There was only 5kg between the top five lifters and China’s two strong contenders did not make the podium on total because Alvarez, Kuo and Charron all had a good night. LUO Xiaomin (CHN) won the snatch and made 103-126-229 for fifth place and 21-year-old LUO Shifang (CHN), making her first appearance in senior competition, failed with her final attempt that might have won the title, at 133kg, and finished fourth on 101-129-230. Luo Shifang was second in the clean and jerk behind Alvarez and Kuo, who made 102-130-232. There was only 2kg between the top six in the snatch, where the medallists were Luo Xiaomin on 103kg, Charron on the same number and Kamila KONOTOP (UKR) on 102kg. Charron, who won at 64kg in Tokyo, was understandably happy with her performance, as she showed with a jaunty dance off the platform after her first clean and jerk. She had never competed at less than 63kg before, and had been suffering a knee injury. There was a notable performance in 43rd place of the 52 entries, the most of any weight category. Alanoud ALSHEHRI (KSA), who made 70-77-147, was the first female from Saudi Arabia ever to lift at the IWF World

A world title at last for Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz – and world record for Li Fabin

By Brian Oliver Hidilyn Diaz (PHI) - Women 55kg category @IWF Hidilyn DIAZ (PHI) had won gold and silver medals at the Olympic Games but in her 15-year weightlifting career she had never won at the IWF World Championships until her victory last night in Bogotá, Colombia. “Finally I win at the World Championships - I’m so happy with that,” said Diaz, who became the Philippines’ first Olympic champion in any sport in Tokyo last year. She was a clear winner of the women’s 55kg ahead of Rosalba MORALES (COL) and Ana LOPEZ (MEX) despite failing with her last two attempts. Another Olympic champion, Li FABIN (CHN), won the men’s 61kg, setting a clean and jerk world record and finishing ahead of the Tokyo silver medallist Eko Yuli IRAWAN (INA). Li’s  20-year-old team-mate He YUEJI (CHN) was third. The were more no-lifts than good lifts in both sessions, just the same as on Tuesday, perhaps because athletes are finding it difficult to cope with the altitude. Bogotá is 2,640m above sea level. Diaz, 31, did not suffer because the Philippines team had prepared well, she said, first at a training camp in the United States, then a week of acclimatisation in Colombia. She said, “It was good timing because that is the last time I will compete at 55kg.” She  will have to move to one of the new Olympic weights for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, either down to 49kg or, more likely, up to 59kg. The fact that she is still on the platform, after all the demands on her time since her victory last year, is “absolutely amazing, it shows her incredible commitment” said Monico Puentevella, president of the Philippines Weightlifting Federation. In the build-up to her victory in Tokyo, where she was the only weightlifter to finish ahead of a Chinese rival, Diaz spent months training in a remote village in Malaysia, having been stranded there because of Covid travel restrictions. Her non-stop training there, without distraction, was a big help and there are times when she would like to be back out of the glare of public attention. “It’s really hard when you become so famous,” she said. “I have been able to control it, but it’s very hard with time management. “There are so many opportunities. I do endorsements for a lot of products, I have a lot of events, I’m training hard and on top of that I’m studying.” “Just before we came here I had to defend my thesis,” said Diaz, whose chosen subject was business studies at Saint Benilde, one of the top colleges in the Philippines. “There are times when I wish I was back in Malaysia, in another country with all the time to focus on weightlifting, training all the time. I have had negative thoughts, doubts, and I have had a lot of injuries. “But then I think no, I am so happy to be back in the Philippines, the country I love, and competing in weightlifting, the sport I love. I’m so grateful to the team.” Diaz was a clear winner on 93-114-207. Morales was clearly in pain throughout the clean and jerk but responded to the crowd’s cheers to finish second on 89-110-199, ahead of Lopez on 90-108-198. Lopez was second in the snatch but dropped to fifth in the clean and jerk, in which the bronze went to Shoely MEGO (PER). Women 55kg Podium @IWF In the men’s 61kg Li Fabin claimed a world record with his final lift. For the second time in two days the host nation Colombia won a medal from the B Group, and the three medallists from last year’s IWF World Championships made only five good lifts between them from 18 attempts. Li Fabin (CHN) - Men 61kg category @IWF Li had already won when he came out on his second clean and jerk to try for the world record at 175kg. He failed that time but made it at the last attempt and finished 137-175-312. His young team-mate He broke the junior world record on total, making 136-160-296 for third place overall. Irawan made only two good lifts and lost his clean and jerk world record, but he held on to second place with 135-165-300. Irawan was second in the clean and jerk ahead of two B Group lifters, Jhon Serna of Colombia who took bronze, and Teerapat Chomchuen of Thailand who was sixth on total, a place ahead of

Gold for China’s Jiang – and Chanu earns cheers for great escape

By Brian Oliver China and Thailand won gold on the second day of the 2022 IWF World Championships in Bogotá, Colombia, and Mirabai CHANU (IND) earned huge cheers from the crowd for performing a remarkable recovery to save a lift. JIANG Huihua (CHN) defeated her team-mate HOU Zhihui (CHN), the Tokyo Olympic champion, and Chanu to win the women’s 49kg. Jiang, who was winning her third world title, nearly bettered Chanu’s clean and jerk world record too, but she just failed with her final attempt at 120kg. Chanu earned the biggest cheer of the night from the crowd at the Gran Carpa Américas Corferias when she made a remarkable “save” from a seemingly impossible position on her third snatch attempt. She appeared to have lost her balance and looked sure to hit the platform on her knees, yet somehow she kept her footing and made the lift. Some of the technical officials joined in the applause. Another Olympic gold medallist, the Rio 2016 48kg champion Sanikun (formerly Sopita) TANASAN (THA), was seventh in the snatch on 85kg and failed to make a total after three failures in the clean and jerk. Jiang, a world champion in 2015 and 2019, made 93-113-206, Chanu 87-113-200 and Hou was third on 89-109-198. Hou, whose four-year head-to-head score against Jiang now stands at 3-3, declined to take her final lift. Hayley REICHARDT (USA) was fifth on total and won the clean and jerk bronze medal with 110kg. Nina STERCKX (BEL) would have claimed the European snatch record with her 89kg third attempt, but Mihaela CAMBEI (ROU) came straight out and made 90kg to take that record and the snatch silver medal. Cambei was fourth on total on 90-104-194, and Sterckx, who failed with her last two attempts, was fifth on 89-104-193 - the highest ever IWF World Championships finish by a Belgian female. Sterckx won the junior world title at 55kg in May and, having weighed as much as 58kg earlier in the year, she had to lose 15 per cent of her body weight to compete in this category. “You have to eat hardly anything – you don’t want to know what I ate to get my weight down,” she said. Women 49kg category podium @IWF In the men’s 55kg there were twice as many no-lifts as good lifts. Three of the eight athletes failed to make a total, there were six different medallists including a Colombian from the B Group, and 19-year-old Theerapong SILACHAI (THA) set a junior world record of 148kg in the clean and jerk. The snatch gold medallist, the Asian champion LAI Gia Thanh (VIE), failed with all his clean and jerks. Last year’s world champion Arli CHONTEY (KAZ) was the only man to make two good snatches, which gave him the silver medal, but he dropped to fourth on total with only one successful clean and jerk, finishing 118-141-259. NGO Son Dinh (VIE) was second on total with 117-143-260, ahead of KIM Yongho (KOR) in third place on 115-145-260. Silachai made all three clean and jerks while his rivals had only four between them. Miguel SUAREZ (COL) was a clean and jerk bronze medallist from the B Group and was fifth on total with 105-143-248. Men 55kg category podium