Forde, Day 4 – Photo Gallery
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Forde, Day 4: Four in a row for PRK women, and Thailand claims sensational gold on day of 16 world records
The top four finishers in a remarkable men’s 71kg session all broke world records, and PRK’s formidable women’s team made it four from four at the IWF World Championships in Forde, Norway. The final tally of world records on the day was 16 – one junior and 15 senior. Ri Suk (PRK) Ri Suk broke records with four of her six good lifts at 63kg, in which she finished a long way clear of Canada’s double Olympic medallist Maude Charron. PRK will complete a five-from-five full house in the women’s events if Song Kuk Hyang wins at 69kg on Monday, which she is expected to do. Albert Delos Santos from the Philippines got the ball rolling with a junior world record in the 71kg afternoon B Group, and the real excitement came in the last 10 lifts of the evening. He Yueji from China had bombed out in snatch at the 2023 World Championships, his last international competition before today. This time he broke the snatch world record twice, following up with two more records on total when he went five from six. But by the end he was hanging on to third place. When he missed his final attempt on 188, finishing 160-184-344, four men still had a chance to overtake 23-year-old He. Two of them did it – first Masanori Miyamoto from Japan and then Weeraphon Wichuma from Thailand, who moved into the lead and stayed there. Weeraphon Wichuma (THA) The totals of the top five finishers were 346kg, 345kg, 344kg, 343kg and 342kg. The world record breakers who will not appear on the official lists, because their records did not last until the end of the session, were China’s He on total, Yusuf Fehmi Genc from Turkiye in clean and jerk, and Miyamoto in clean and jerk and total. Wichuma, backed by a sizeable group of Thais who have settled locally, as well as his team-mates, made four good lifts for 152-194-346. Miyamoto, who was distraught after failing with his final attempt on 195kg, made 152-193-345. Genc may rue the decision to go for 192kg on his final attempt, which gave him the lead in clean and jerk and second place behind He, but only for a few minutes. Genc finished fourth. Masanori Miyamoto (JPN) Ri Won Ju from PRK appeared to hurt his right knee when he missed his first clean and jerk on 190kg. He was clearly in pain after making it next time, but came back for more and was desperately close to a remarkable victory. Ri got 195kg above his head but lost his balance backwards and what might have been first place became fifth. Sebastian Olivares, the 20-year-old Colombian who had set the clean and jerk world record at the Pan American Championships in July, was injured when he dropped the barbell on his first snatch attempt. He was taken to hospital but was said to be recovering well. For 19-year-old Delos Santos, who won youth and junior world titles at lighter weights, his appearance in the B Group was his first in a senior competition. What a start he made, topping the group with a junior world record in clean and jerk on 137-185-322 to finish eighth overall. In the back room the IWF president Mohammed Jalood was among the many well-wishers who congratulated Delos Santos and posed for photos with him. Albert Delos Santos (PHI) The teenager, who is in the second year of studying for a business degree, had been telling everyone he would make 185kg. “Promising to get a world record makes me sound cocky, which I’m not, but that was pretty special,” he said. “My big target here was making the top ten and hitting that 185. “There’s plenty more improvement in me, and I know I need to find 15 kilos more in snatch. But things are going well. Now I have to go straight into preparing for the next big competition, the South East Asia Games in Thailand in two months.” Asked which he would choose from a good business career or an Olympic medal, he replied, “Let’s go both.” Ri finished 17kg clear of Charron, the Tokyo Olympic champion and Paris silver medallist, and 22kg ahead of third-placed Yenny Sinisterra from Colombia. She broke the snatch world record with her third lift, then posted clean and jerk and total world records with her next three, finishing 111-142-253. Ri still has a way to go to match the “old” 63kg world record of 262kg set by the great Deng Wei from China in 2016. The category was in use from 1998 to 2018, but current world records must be set from June 1 this year when the categories changed. Maude Charron (CAN) Charron, 10 years older than Ri at 32, was delighted with her performance. It was the first time she bettered 130kg in clean and jerk, a target that had “become a bit of a mental barrier”. She did it twice, making 131kg to take the lead, then 133kg, after which she glanced at her coaching team with a ‘What about that?’ look. “I finally got past 130kg – it must be the Norwegian air,” Charron said. “I really wanted to do well here because I love this place.” Charron has been twice, to a test event and a training camp before the World Championships. “It’s a beautiful place. I’ve brought my hiking boots and I’ll be using them tomorrow… if I can still walk!” Charron made 103-133-236, equalling her career-best total made at 59kg. Sinisterra finished 103-128-231, the same total as clean and jerk bronze medallist Elreen Ando from the Philippines, who was fourth because she got there after Sinisterra. Two closely-matched Americans were fifth and sixth, Sophia Shaft on 101-126-227 from her two good lifts, and Katie Estep on 98-125-223 from three. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
Forde, Day 3: Photo Gallery
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Forde, Day 3: Gold and world records for Turkiye and PRK – and German Jon Mau is back after cancer
Muhammed Furkan Ozbek put on a masterclass to win for Turkiye at 65kg, and PRK made it three from three in the women’s events when Kim Il Gyong won at 58kg on day three of the IWF World Championships in Forde, Norway. Both winners claimed world records on total. Rafiatu Lawal from Nigeria became Africa’s first medal winner in Forde when she finished second to Kim, and the Tokyo Olympic champion Kuo Hsing-Chun from Chinese Taipei was third. Muhammed Furkan Ozbek (TUR) Hampton Morris from the United States, who was third to Ozbek, failed with two world record attempts, Eko Yuli Irawan from Indonesia was on the podium at the age of 36, and Ivan Dimov from Bulgaria won a medal from the B Group. Another 36-year-old, local hero Ine Andersson, ended her career in style by making her final lift in the women’s B Group to finish with a 200kg total. She earned huge cheers from another large audience in Forde. But arguably the biggest achievement on the day was by Jon Mau from Germany, who is back on the global stage after battling against cancer. In the 65kg B Group, Mau made his first international total in more than three years. During that time he underwent six months of chemotherapy treatment. Hampton Morris (USA) Ozbek made all six lifts and took the world record on total, never jumping more than 3kg on his way to 145-179-324. Since his first international competition as a youth nine years ago, Ozbek had never competed this light. He was fourth at the Paris Olympic Games at 73kg, and the 8kg drop in body weight clearly suits him. When Ozbek, 24, completed his final attempt he led Morris by 13kg and Pak Myong Jin by 14kg. The PRK lifter made 180kg to move ahead of Morris, and the American then failed twice to better his own clean and jerk world record on 183kg. Pak made 135-180-315 for silver, and Morris 133-178-311 from his two good lifts. Dimov and Irawan both snatched 137kg for their medals, and Pak took clean and jerk gold. Kim Il Gyong (PRK) Kim led Lawal by 3kg at halfway and stretched the advantage to 7kg when she made 132kg on her penultimate attempt for the world record on total. She then made 134kg but the jury ruled it a no-lift for deliberate oscillation. Kim made 104-132-236, Lawal – who also lost a lift on jury review – finished 101-128-229 and Kuo made 96-128-224. Miranda Ulrey from the United States won snatch won snatch bronze with 98kg and finished fifth. Rafiatu Lawal (NGR) Mau spoke at length about his remarkable return to the platform. “Two and a half years ago I started feeling ill, very often,” he said. “It was the first time in my life when something was wrong with my body. I couldn’t eat much, and when I did the food would come back out half an hour later.” At first, Mau’s doctor could find nothing wrong. Mau thought it might be symptoms of stress during his attempt to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games. The team doctor became concerned at a training camp in Tenerife. “It might be something to do with your lung,” he told Mau. Back home in Germany, a biopsy showed Mau had cancer. “I had to wait for two weeks to find out what type,” said Mau. It was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which is aggressive and potentially deadly. “It was so unbelievable, like some kind of sick joke. I just didn’t want to believe it.” Ine Andersson (NOR) Mau, 27, who has four sisters and a brother, spent more time with his parents. “I wasn’t crying about it, I wasn’t so low. The people around me were in a worse state than I was,” he said. “The doctors said there was a 90 per cent chance to get rid of it with chemotherapy. “My mental health is strong and my attitude was, ‘This could be your last day, so live it like it is – day after day after day. Some days were bad because of the chemo. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. But other days I felt well.” Jon Mau (GER) The chemotherapy treatment lasted six months. For a long time Mau, a full-time professional weightlifter, ignored the sport. When the Paris Olympic Games came around he watched only one session on television, the 61kg category in which he had been lifting. “I didn’t want to look at weightlifting,” he said. “I was ill and I would have found it very difficult seeing others enjoying themselves and making good lifts. I lived for myself.” The treatment was successful. Mau had a chemo port implanted in his upper chest to deliver drugs into his body, and it stayed for about a year after the treatment ended in case the cancer returned. It did not. He returned to light training, general fitness at first. His three-monthly checkups became every six months. The next one is in January. “The first time I lifted the barbell again it was only 40 kilos but it felt very heavy,” Mau said. “All this time I kept thinking, ‘What will I do if I can’t do weightlifting? I’ve been in the sport for 15 years and it’s all I’ve ever done.’ I always hoped I would return and here I am.” When Mau returned to the platform in the German Bundesliga he did snatches only, because clean and jerks were impossible when his chemo port was still in. The port went about six months ago, after which he trained nine weeks for a local competition. Mau lifted at the Cup of the Blue Swords in Meissen five weeks ago, making 132-163-295, and had hoped to better those numbers in Forde today. “I’m not happy with my performance, this is not what I wanted,” he said after making 129-155-284, his first international total since May, 2022. He went to the 2023 European Championships in Armenia but was not fit to lift. From a wider perspective, his verdict was: “It’s a great feeling to be back on the stage, competing with the best athletes in the world. It’s wonderful. “My big target is to qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics. I’m doing everything step by step. The next step in the Europeans next April in Georgia, then World Championships at the start of qualifying for Los Angeles.” Everybody in weightlifting will wish him good luck. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
Forde, Day 2: Photo Gallery
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Forde, Day 2: Victory for PRK and China as battling Paris silver medallists Cambei (ROU) and Silachai (THA) finish second again
Two silver medallists from the Paris Olympic Games put up impressive performances on the second day of the IWF World Championships in Forde, Norway – but they could not overcome the might of PRK and China and had to settle for second place again. Mihaela Cambei from Romania, who was beaten for 49kg Olympic gold by Hou Zhouhui’s last lift in Paris, weighed in lighter than everybody else and fought “like a warrior” in the women’s 53kg behind Kang Hyon Gyong from PRK. Kang Hyon Gyong (PRK) In a tense finish to the men’s 60kg a couple of hours later, Theerapong Silachai from Thailand made up 10kg in his last two lifts but fell short of the target set by Wang Hao from China, who was making only his second international appearance since he won the 56kg junior world title in 2017. Silachai had finished second to a Chinese winner in Paris, too – Li Fabin at 61kg. Both Cambei and Silachai won a gold medal, in snatch and clean and jerk respectively. Kang failed with three attempts, one of them for a clean and jerk world record, but still made it two from two for PRK in the women’s events. Her 93-121-214 left Kang 6kg clear of Cambei on 94-114-208. The bronze medallist in Paris, Surodchana Khambao from Thailand, was third on 90-110-200. Kang’s total was only 1kg more than her formidable team-mate Ri Song Gum made in the 48kg on Thursday. Mihaela Cambei (ROU) Cambei was very happy to meet the targets she had set herself, making five good lifts for a career best in clean and jerk by 2kg and on total by 3kg. “I wanted to win gold in the snatch, then fight like a warrior for a place on the podium on total,” she said. “I did it, now let’s see how it goes from here.” Cambei weighed in light at 50.91kg. “It has been very hard to go up in weight,” Cambei said. “But at least I had time to work on it, and now it’s my responsibility to keep going.” Cansel Ozkan from Turkey, a bronze medallist in snatch, was fourth on 93-104-197. Kang had three white lights from the referees for her first snatch attempt, but it was ruled a no-lift by the jury for bending and extending. She missed her third snatch at 96kg, and a clean and jerk world record attempt on 127kg. The 19-year-old Chinese debutant Du Meiyuan failed with a junior world record snatch attempt at 94kg before retiring. Chen Guan-Ling from Chinese Taipei ended a disappointing year with a bombout. In six competitions since winning the 55kg junior world title on 217kg in Spain just over a year ago, Chen has never matched that total. Three snatch failures meant she has had one bombout and 12 missed attempts in her four appearances this year, but at least she won a clean and jerk bronze on 113kg. Wang Hao (CHN) Wang Hao was 4kg short of the world record in snatch with a lift to come, but he declined it. He then made all three clean and jerks to set a target on 138-164-302. His teenaged team-mate Yuan Hao missed a 132kg junior world record attempt in snatch. When Wang Hao had finished, Silachai and Pang Un Chol from PRK both had two attempts to come, but they were so far behind they duelled instead for clean and jerk gold. Silachai made both attempts to claim it on 129-170-299, with Pang third on 127-168-395 after failing at 171kg. Goderdzi Berdelidze from Georgia was fourth, 12kg behind Pang, and Yuan Hao was fifth with a total of 281kg. Theerapong Silachai (THA) In the B Group, Joshua Mboya from Kenya made 61kg more than his entry total. That was apparently down to an administrative error, but even so Mboya added 23kg to his best total, despite dropping his body weight by 2kg, in making 110-131-241. “It’s the result of hard work in training,” said Mboya, 20, who is studying at college. Kenya is beginning to see the benefits of a change in recruitment policy. “What we did in the past, taking people from other sports, was a mistake,” said John Ogolla, president of the Kenyan Federation. “No more gymnasts and body-builders for us, we take athletes direct from schools instead, straight into weightlifting. Joshua Mboya (KEN) “We have some good young athletes coming through and we hope to have six in Glasgow next year. At the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022 we had three.” By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
