News

CHN Sweeps Gold on Final Day of Women’s Weightlifting at Tokyo 2020

CHN swept gold Monday as the women’s weightlifting competition of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 came to a close in spectacular fashion. In the +87kg category, LI Wenwen (CHN) took home Olympic Records in snatch (140kg), clean & jerk (180kg) and total (320kg. It was China's seventh gold medal in weightlifting at these Olympic Games, equalling the record by an NOC: seven by the Soviet Union in 1976. China has now won five of the six gold medals in the women's super heavyweight category at the Olympic Games. “I would like to thank my country. Without my country I cannot make such great achievements,” LI said.  CAMPBELL Emily Jade claimed GBR’s first ever medal in women’s weightlifting, a silver. She made her last clean & jerk of 161kg to take second place overall with a 283kg total. “I said to myself, 'I’ve just got to believe in myself. It's not going to be easy. It's going be a hard fight, but I do believe that I could potentially win a medal.' Weightlifting is unpredictable, you could be in the best shape of your life and somebody else is even better shape,” CAMPBELL said. CAMPBELL’s silver is GBR’s first Olympic weightlifting medal since the Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles. ROBLES Sarah Elizabeth etched herself into Olympic history, becoming the only woman from the USA to win two Olympic weightlifting medals. Her 282kg total gave her bronze, following a bronze medal in the Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro 2016. ““I show up every day to the gym, worked out (and) got in shape. Then I got invited to come here with the competition. Obviously with Covid we had some interesting changes with competition dates and procedures, there was a lot of uncertainty,” ROBLES said. In the women’s 87kg A session, WANG Zhouyu claimed CHN’s 6th weightlifting gold medal of the Tokyo Games with a 270kg total. “"In our team for weightlifting, when we go abroad for any competition, we want to first display China's strengths. Chinese athletes, each of them, are here for the gold medal. I thank my opponents because it's together we can improve and progress,” WANG said. ECU’s SALAZAR ARCE Tamara Yajaira set new Pan American Continental records in clean & jerk (150kg) and total (263kg) as she went on to win silver.  “"I'm so happy with this silver medal, it is a result of years and years of sacrifice and a lot of effort. I'm happy beyond belief, I actually went beyond my objectives. I worked so hard to be able to be as close as possible to my other counterparts,” SALAZAR ARCE said. SANTANA PEGUERO Crismery Dominga of DOM claimed bronze with a 256kg total, her nation’s second weightlifting medal of the Tokyo 2020 Games, and the first by a woman in an individual event. "I feel very proud of being able to represent a small island like my country and to win a medal in an Olympic event. I'm also very grateful towards my family. We've been working very hard. I'm a perfectionist,” SANTANA PEGUERO said. Earlier in the day’s combined women’s 87kg / +87kg B session, VALENTIN PEREZ Lidia lifted in her fourth Olympic Games. The 2012 Olympic Champion, 2008 Olympic silver medalist and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist posted a 225kg total. She snatched a best 103kg and made her opening 122kg clean & jerk before skipping her remaining attempts.  The penultimate weightlifting competition of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 happens Tuesday as medals in the men’s 109kg bodyweight category will be up for grabs. Lifting begins at the Tokyo International Forum at 1:50PM with the 109kg B session followed by the 109kg A session at

ECU Claims Gold as Pan America Sweeps Women’s 76kg

Athletes from Pan America swept the podium Sunday in the women’s 76kg bodyweight competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.  Gold medalist and Olympic Champion DAJOMES BARRERA Neisi Patricia became ECU’s first woman to ever win gold.   "I feel really happy and really proud," DAJOMES BARRERA said of her 263kg total, a new Pan American record. “In snatch I had lifted the weight (before); in clean & jerk it was the first time I have lifted 145kg. The training regimen has given me the strength to be comfortable in all my competitions, and that's what you can see." She’s the third athlete from ECU to win a medal at the Olympic Games after PEREZ Jefferson won two medals in the race walk (gold in 1996 and silver in 2008) and CARAPAZ Richard won the men's cycling road race at Tokyo 2020. DAJOMES BARRERA celebrated her family on the platform with “mama & hermano”, mother & brother, written on her palm.  2019 IWF World Champion Nye KATHERINE ELIZABETH landed the silver medal-- her nation’s first silver in women’s weightlifting at the Olympic Games. "It feels surreal, I feel like I've had such a whirlwind,” NYE said. “I started lifting in 2016, so the fact that I'm here in 2021 with a medal around my neck is just unreal.” NYE looked strong with a 249kg total. Her third snatch, a 114kg total, was initially ruled a good lift, but was later overturned by the jury for dropping the barbell above the shoulders. That didn’t shake NYE’s confidence heading into the clean & jerk.  "That was one of the best lifts I've ever done in my life, especially at that weight,” NYE said. “But when it comes down to it, I broke the rules. I saw it and I was like, 'Oh shoot'. It's something you don't think about very often, especially in a highly emotional moment like that. It's a disappointment, but they were right and all I can do is learn from it, and that's what I plan on doing." MEX claimed Mexico its fourth Olympic medal in weightlifting and its first since 2012, with FUENTES ZAVALA Aremi’s bronze medal-winning performance.  “I put a lot of effort into getting to this moment - in this moment I believed the most in myself.” FUENTES ZAVALA said. “It means a lot to me and my family, and obviously also for my country it means a lot." FUENTES ZAVALA put up her 245kg total early in the clean & jerk competition and had to watch other athletes try to take her spot on the podium.  "Of course the nerves are always there, but I have worked very hard on the psychological aspect of the sport to inhibit this nervousness and everything that comes with it. I believe in my own work while doing my sport, and not being influenced by the results of the other athletes,” FUENTES ZAVALA said.  The women’s weightlifting competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 concludes Monday with the 87kg and +87kg bodyweight categories decided. A combined 87kg/+87kg B session gets underway at the Tokyo International Forum at 11:50AM Japan time, followed by the 87kg A session at 3:50PM and the +87kg A session at

TCHATCHET Delivers Message of Hope at Olympic Games

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, TCHATCHET II Cyrille, then 18 years old, slipped away from Team Cameroon’s housing in search of a better life. Seven years later, TCHATCHET, lifted on the world’s greatest stage Saturday as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team (EOT).  “It didn’t go as planned. But I am happy with the result. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but you still have to celebrate our achievement, no matter how small or minor they are,” TCHATCHET said about his 10th place finish in the men’s 96kg category at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Living on the streets of Scotland, TCHATCHET called a suicide hotline. Police arrived and took him into custody while he applied for asylum. But through the darkness, TCHATCHET found one thing that kept him going; weightlifting. “I have not been able to stop weightlifting even when I was at my lowest moments,” TCHATCHET said. “Weightlifting is a bit addictive. I don’t think I can actually stop weightlifting until I am physically unable to do it.” Once granted asylum, TCHATCHET attended Middlesex University, where he met his coach.  “We’ve made a lot of good progress. I have had a lot of support in refining my technique. I have had a lot of support there,” TCHATCHET said. While TCHATCHET’s 350kg total may not have totally satisfied himself as an athlete, his performance Saturday at the Olympic Games should inspire millions around the world facing conflict and uncertainty.  “I have a message of hope. You shouldn’t give up life,” TCHATCHET said. “Life is like a roller coaster. You go through ups and downs. You have to keep working and keep

ELBAKH Shines as QAT Claims First-Ever Gold; CHN Picks Up Fifth Gold with LYU

ELBAKH Fares Ibrahim exploded with emotion Saturday night after making his opening 217kg clean and jerk. With that lift, he etched himself into Olympic history, winning his nation, QAT, its first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport.  “I am literally speechless about that. I hope that they are proud of me. I promise this is not the end, we still have more and more coming soon. We will do our best to make it even better,” ELBAKH said. He went on to lift a 225kg clean & jerk on his second attempt, for an Olympic Record in the lift and in total with 402kg. Loaders put 232kg on the bar, which would have been a new world record, but ELBAKH didn’t make it and would have to settle on owning the Olympic Record instead. “We worked more on the clean & jerk. We were confident about it. We had great competitors so we had to go hard for it and make sure we win,” ELBAKH said. VALLENILLA SANCHEZ Keydomar (VEN) took home silver with a 287kg total.  “I am very emotional. I thank God. I appreciate my family, my mother, my father and the Venezuelan federation. I got the silver medal and I’m very happy,” VALLENILLA SANCHEZ said. It’s the first time since the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984 since Venezuela picked up multiple Olympic medals in a single sport at the same Games. VALLENILLA SANCHEZ’s silver follows MAYORA PERNIA Julio Ruben’s silver medal in the men’s 73kg category. PLIESNOI Anton, worked through an obvious leg injury, to clean & jerk 210kg on this third attempt, securing the bronze medal also with a 287kg total.  “I couldn’t imagine how I would be able to lift. I turned off my pain emotions and turned on my other emotions. I did my best,” PLIESNOI said. While VALLENILLA SANCHEZ and PLIESNOI had identical totals, the silver medal went to VEN since the athlete reached that total first in competition. CHN’s dominance in the men’s weightlifting competition at these Games continued in the men’s 81kg bodyweight category. LYU Xiaojun (CHN) swept the Olympic records with a 170kg snatch, 204kg clean & jerk and 374kg total, to claim Olympic gold, his nation’s 5th of the Tokyo 2020 Games. "Weightlifting is my lifetime career. My family is part of my life, and weightlifting is another part of my life. I really loved this weightlifting competition, and weightlifting itself. I think it is a beautiful art, that's maybe why I can take part for such a long time,” LYU said.  LYU turned 37 years old three days ago.  “Perhaps I can continue until I am 40,” LYU said. “I really enjoy having this opportunity to compete and work with the young athletes on the stage. I would like to thank my fans for believing in me and for the support." In an exciting back-and-forth clean & jerk competition, several athletes were vying for spots on the podium.  ONNAT MICHEL Zacarias (DOM) secured the silver with a 367kg, his nation’s first Weightlifting medal.  "I feel like I'm in a dream. It's historical for my country,” ONNAT MICHEL said. “It's the eighth Olympic medal in the history of the country, so I feel overwhelmed." PIZZOLATO Antonino secured ITA’s third weightlifting medal of these Games with a 365kg total.  "What's happening is that we started believing in it. We have a great team and we're not afraid of others,” PIZZOLATO said. After securing bronze with his second clean & jerk attempt, PIZZOLATO tried a 210kg clean & jerk which would have set a new World Record. "Obviously I was disappointed, but that feeling was replaced almost immediately with a feeling of joy for having won the medal. Any athlete would have wanted a different medal, but nevertheless I'm very happy that I got the bronze. This is something that will ignite me to try even harder,” PIZZOLATO said. Earlier in the day’s combined men’s combined 81kg and 96kg B session, TCHATCHET II Cyrille took the platform representing the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR). He placed 10th overall with a 350kg. “It didn’t go as planned. But I am happy with the result,” TCHATCHET said. “Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but you still have to celebrate our achievement, no matter how small or minor they are. So I am happy with my

CHN Sets World Record; INA Snatches Bronze From B Session

CHN claimed its third gold medal and first World Record of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Wednesday after an exciting men’s 73kg session that produced the bronze medalist from the B group of the competition. SHI Zhiyong (CHI) broke his World Record in total with 364kg, one kilogram more than the record he set at the 2019 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. That total also set new Olympic and Asian continental records. His 166kg snatch and 198kg clean & jerk Wednesday also set new Olympic Records.  “All I want for Olympics is just to break the record for myself for a long time,” SHI said. “I’m really grateful [for] the IOC and the Japanese government for having the Games.” SHI, the 2016 Olympic Champion in the men’s 69kg category becomes the second weightlifter to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the men's lightweight category, after Waldemar BASZANOWSKI (POL) did it in 1964 and 1968. VEN’s MAYORA PERNIA Julio Ruben took home silver, with a 346kg total.  “I dedicate it to my children, to my daughter, to my wife, to my parents, to my father. It is very important and I know with their support I can go to Paris in 2024,” MAYORA PERNIA said. MAYORA PERNIA’s silver medal was VEN’s first medal of these Olympic Games, and only their second Olympic medal ever in weightlifting. RUBIO Israel won bronze in the men’s 62kg category at the Olympic Games Athens 2004. The biggest shocker of the day happened eight hours earlier in the men’s 73kg B session, where ABDULLAH Rahmat Erwin (INA) matched the Olympic Standard in clean & jerk with a 190kg lift on his final attempt. The lift gave ABDULLAH a 342kg total, which earned him a bronze medal. He returned to the Tokyo International Forum to receive his medal, his nation’s third in weightlifting at these Games. “The only thing I do is just praying I can get one medal,” ABDULLAH said about watching the A session. Thursday and Friday are rest days for Weightlifting. Action at the Tokyo International Forum returns Saturday with the men’s 81kg and 96kg

CAN Strikes Gold; TKM Earns First-Ever Olympic Medal

For the second consecutive day, a nation had an Olympic first-- and weightlifting played host to the historic moments.  On Tuesday, Turkmenistan ended its Olympic medal drought, when GURYEVA Polina broke through, winning silver in the women’s 59kg bodyweight category -- the first medal of any kind for the nation. “I am really proud about this and I think the Turkmenistani people will be happy about this. I will continue my training and try to have more success," GURYEVA said. Turkmenistan first entered Olympic competition in 1996 at the Games in Atlanta. Its historic moment came one day after DIAZ Hidilyn, 4-time Olympian and 2016 Olympic silver medalist of the Philippines struck gold, the nation’s first gold medal since it entered Olympic competition in 1924.  But it was TPE’s KUO Hsing-Chun who was crowned Olympic Champion in the women’s 59kg category Tuesday evening. She took home all three Olympic Records, a 103kg snatch, 133kg clean & jerk and 236kg total, besting GURYEVA by 19kg. “I finally have my gold medal. All the pieces have come together now. I'm very happy,” KUO said. “Today I have this medal, and maybe I can have a bigger influence to encourage young people to participate in this sport." KUO attempted to break her world record in clean & jerk with a 141kg lift, but came up short. “I aimed for the world record. I couldn't achieve that today, which was a bit of a regret, but I did get the gold medal, so I'm happy,” KUO said. KUO’s gold was TPE’s sixth gold medal in the Olympic Games. Five of TPE’s six Olympic gold medals have been won by women. She won bronze at the Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro 2016. ANDOH Mikiko, of the host nation Japan, won bronze, improving from her 5th place finish at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games. “I’m very happy that I got a bronze medal. This is something that I can show to people,” ANDOH said. “When I succeeded with 120kg it got me the medal. When I heard the buzzer I thought, 'at last, I've got a medal'. I was filled with emotions." CAN’s Maude CHARRON struck gold in the 64kg bodyweight category, besting the competition in her first Olympic Games.  "I thought about my grandmother,” CHARRON said about what she was thinking about while standing atop the podium. “Once she told me she'd like me to sing the Canadian anthem, so I sang it - but on the podium at the Olympics." BORDIGNON Giorgia claimed silver, posting a a 232kg total, and earning ITA’s second Weightlifting medal at these Tokyo Games. "Things are changing, there's a new generation, and now who's winning are the people who are facing their fears, and they thoroughly deserve it,” BORDIGNON said. CHEN Wen-Huei picked up TPE’s second weightlifting medal of the day, winning bronze with a 230kg total "It's amazing. Now we can show that in (our country) weightlifting is very valued, and we are really good at it,” CHEN said. CHEN’s medal was TPE’s fifth Olympic medal in weightlifting. Earlier in the day’s combined 59kg & 64kg B session, ELLIOTT Kiana Rose (AUS) set a new Oceania Continental Record in snatch with a 101kg lift, besting her 100kg record set at the Australian Open in February 2020. Her 209kg total placed her 11th overall. The men return to the platform Wednesday with the 73kg bodyweight category. The B session begins at 13:50 followed by the A session at