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Forde, Day 10: Photo Gallery

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Forde, Day 10: Lalayan shows his class on red-light day as Forde extravaganza comes to a close

Varazdat Lalayan from Armenia strengthened his position as the world’s top super-heavyweight when he won his second world title on the final day of the IWF World Championships in Forde, Norway. Park Hyejeong won the women’s super-heavyweights on a good day for Korea. Her team-mates Song Yeonghwan and Lee Yangjae finished third and fourth in the men’s event when Ali Davoudi from Iran bombed out in clean and jerk. Varazdat Lalayan (ARM) The Fordehuset was full to its 1,700 capacity once more as a hugely successful Championships came to a close. The audience saw Lalayan take the lead with his first attempt and finish well clear of Gor Minasyan from Bahrain and Song. In his past seven competitions Lalayan, 26, has been beaten only once, finishing 3kg behind Lasha Talakhadze at the Paris Olympic Games. Lasha was not lifting in the other six – he was in the audience in Forde - and Lalayan’s winning margin has ranged from 8kg to 35kg. Today it was 14kg when Lalayan made 211-250-461. His four good lifts was a far better effort than anybody else in a session when there were 26 red lights on the scoreboard compared with 16 whites. A total of 12 attempts were declined. Gor Minasyan (BRN) Two athletes were not fit to lift, the Georgian teenager Bakari Turmanidze and Ayat Sharifi from Iran. Two bombed out in clean and jerk – Davoudi after failing at 243, 244 and 246kg, and Aaron Williams from the United States on 220, 221 and 225kg. Williams lost his final attempt to a jury review. If he had made it he might have won the bronze on total, having snatched 185kg. Minasyan made 205-242-457 and Song 175-235-410. Two B Group athletes moved up to fifth and sixth overall because of all those red lights, Vladyslav Prylypko from Ukraine and local hero Ragnar Holme, who is a plumber in Forde as well as a weightlifter. The women’s medal contenders also had a bad day. None of the top five made more than one clean and jerk, and when Park declined her final attempt it meant that all three medallists finished with only three good lifts. Park Hyejeong (KOR) Park won on 125-158-283, her lowest total for three years. Marifelix Sarria from Cuba and Mary Theisen Lappen from the United States were second and third, both well below the numbers they made in finishing first and second at the Pan American Championships in July. Sarria made 118-157-275 and Theisen Lappen 115-154-269. When Theisen Lappen lost her 159kg final attempt to a jury review, Emily Campbell had a chance to win a medal for Great Britain, but she failed on 159kg and was fourth across the board. Zhu Linhan, an 18-year-old debutant from China, won snatch bronze and finished fifth on 116-140-256. Marifelix Sarria (CUB) A former skiing champion finished 11th, one place below her target in Forde. The German Kiara Klug, 22, was a national downhill champion as a teenager, but her Olympic dreams have switched from winter to summer. She gave up skiing five years ago because of a “mental and emotional crisis combined with an eating disorder and a coach with whom the chemistry wasn't right”. Klug took to the gym and weightlifting has helped her to a much better place. “Training sucks sometimes but I love competing, I love getting ready for a competition and I love the sport. I feel I belong,” she said. Klug, 22, won medals at the European Championships this year and her long-term aim is qualifying for the Olympics. Are there any transferable skills from downhill skiing to the weightlifting platform? “I learned in skiing about being in the zone. When you go to the start gate, the focus is all on you. It’s the same now when I go on stage. You shut everything else out. This is your time – and I love that.” Kiara Klug (GER) In her skiing career Klug weighed about 20kg less than today’s 93kg, and she will get heavier yet. “I want to go up and see how I feel, to try and get more power,” she said. “I’m planning to bulk up over the winter. I’m not so heavy that I couldn’t lose the weight, so I will try heavier, and if it looks like I’ll have a better chance of qualifying at 86 or whatever the Olympic weight class is, I’ll be able to try that.” Klug made 111-130-241, one kilo below her best, and knows she has plenty of work to do in clean and jerk. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio

Forde, Day 9: Photo Gallery

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Forde, Day 9: World records for dominant Djuraev back at his true weight – and a day to remember Ragnar the plumber

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

Forde, Day 8: Photo Gallery

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Forde, Day 8: Sensational Solfrid gets royal approval from King of Norway – and another world record for Karlos Nasar

Solfrid Koanda claimed a dramatic home victory in front of a packed crowd of 1,700 that included a very special guest – Harald V, King of Norway. There was more excitement to come on day eight of the IWF World Championships when Karlos Nasar was out of the medals in snatch but rounded off the day with a clean and jerk world record and his eighth straight win. Koanda had kept a back injury secret and was pushed all the way in the 86kg category by Yudelina Mejia from Dominican Republic, who led until the Olympic champion’s final lift at the Fordehuset in Forde. Solfrid Koanda (NOR) Koanda was in tears, flat out on the floor in the back room, when her triumph was confirmed by Mejia’s failure to make her last lift. The King applauded, the crowd roared, and Koanda had her second world title on 120-152-272. Tears flowed again after the medal ceremony, and during her TV interview. “That was my best day,” Koanda said. “It was unbelievable to see people wearing my name on their shirt, and to perform here for such a wonderful home crowd. “Thankyou to them, thankyou to the King for coming, it was a great honour. The King told me, ‘Good job, I was very proud of you.’ Koanda with King Harald V of Norway and IWF President Mohammed Jalood in the back “It’s difficult to describe how much work went into winning these medals. I had a back injury that I kept to myself. There were periods when I couldn’t train properly, and sometimes it was hard just to bend down and do the simple things. “It was only in the last week that I knew I could do it. I knew I could trust my legs, I knew what I could do and today I felt good. I trusted myself and it went really well. “I want to thank everybody who helped me, supported me. I’m going to celebrate now with friends and family, I’m going to enjoy myself. “I’m proud of myself, of my team and I’m proud of the organisers of these Championships.” Koanda’s average winning margin in eight victories since 2022 was 22kg. Today it was one kilogram.    Yudelina Mejia (DOM) Last time out Mejia lifted at her heaviest ever body weight to win the 86kg Pan American title on 123-147-270, by far her best performance. Here, Mejia led at halfway after Koanda missed her third snatch on 123kg. When she missed her second clean and jerk on 150kg Koanda grimaced in pain. She was in trouble, needing 152kg to take the lead. She did it, to huge cheers, and Mejia failed on 153kg, to more huge cheers. Eileen Cikamatana (AUS) Mejia finished 122-149-271, another best total, and Eileen Cikamatana from Australia was third on 112-140-252 from two good lifts. Two 19-year-olds were next. The snatch bronze medallist Rahma Ahmed from Egypt was fourth for the second straight year, on 115-135-250, and Wakana Nagashima from Japan was fifth with a six-from-six 108-138-246. An 18-year-old from New Zealand, Litia Nacagilevu, also made all six lifts for ninth place on 109-131-240. Karlos Nasar (BUL) Nasar was surprisingly out of the medals in fourth place at halfway in the 94kg contest before pulling ahead in clean and jerk. He did it in style, finishing with the clean and jerk world record of 222kg. On 173-222-395, Nasar finished 4kg clear of the snatch winner Alireza Moeini from Iran. Moeini led Nasar by 9kg after making a snatch world record on 182kg – becoming Iran’s first world record holder since Sohrab Moradi. Jokser Albornoz from Colombia was hugely impressive in winning three medals – one more than Nasar - from the B Group. He took snatch bronze, clean and jerk silver and bronze on total with a six-from-six 175-215-390. Albornoz, 21, put 28kg on his best total, which he made at the Bolivarian Games just under a year ago. He has been competing only in national competitions after going up in weight. Alireza Moeini (IRI) “He is our star for the future. Dedicated, disciplined - what an athlete,” said William Peña, president of the Colombian Federation. Albornoz may lift again this year, at the Bolivarian Games beginning in late November. Ali Alipour from Iran was fourth on 176-211-387. His former team-mate Kianoush Rostami, lifting for Kosovo for the first time, was fifth with 172-205-377 from two good lifts. “I will do much better next year,” said Rostami, 34, who won Olympic gold in 2016. In two and a half years since his first senior European title as an 18-year-old, Nasar has set 23 world records – 12 senior and 11 junior. In that time he has won Olympic gold, two world titles, a World Cup, a Grand Prix and been European champion three times. All this despite a seven-month injury absence in 2023. Jokser Albornoz (COL) Nasar was Bulgaria’s Sportsperson of the Year last year, and this victory may help him to retain that title. Stefan Botev won the award back in 1990, when Bulgaria was a powerhouse in world weightlifting, and is now president of the national federation. After years of decline, Nasar is helping the sport back to prominence in his home country, said Botev, who presented the medals at Fordehuset alongside Pyrros Dimas “Karlos is one of the top personalities in Bulgaria now, not just in sport but in news and other areas of the media. It’s very good publicity for us, and we are seeing the results with more members joining our clubs. Many boys want to be a weightlifter now.”  By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio