Happy Birthday to Kakhi Kakhiashvili!
As a matter of fact, Kakhi Kakhiashvili became three times Olympic Champion without being able to share this great recognition to the country where he was born – Georgia. He won his first Olympic Gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games as part of the Soviet Unified Team in the Men’s 90kg bodyweight category. He won his second and third medals as part of the Greek team. First in the Men’s 99kg bodyweight category in 1996 Atlanta and second in the 94kg bodyweight category at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. He was born on July 13, 1969 in Tsinvali and still achieved remarkable results while competing under the Georgian flag. He became European Champion in 1993 and won a Silver Medal at the World Championships. After retiring from his sports career, he did a lot for the recognition of the Georgian weightlifting in his country, and made significant contribution to upgrade weightlifting as a successful sport and earn international recognition. He didn’t achieve his results only as an athlete or coach, but as a highly respected sport diplomat while he is now the President of the Weightlifting Federation of Georgia - working tirelessly for the sport. Under his leadership, Tbilisi, Georgia could host major international events such as the 2015 European Championships and the 2016 IWF Junior World Championships. Kakhi Kakhiashvili was inducted to the IWF Hall of Fame in 2010. Another specificity of his career is his 18-year standing Snatch and Total World Record. He set them on the occasion of the 1999 World Championships Athens, GRE in the Men’s 94kg bodyweight category (188kg Snatch and 412kg Total). Happy Birthday to Kakhi
