Olympic Weightlifting

[ithanos]

Weightlifting started today with the Women's 49kg category.

I caught the end of the B group and noticed Kristina Sobol, representing ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) as an indivdual, did not progress to the clean & Jerk part of the event - she had come into this event as having the best lifts of anyone competing in this B group. Somehow she missed 3 consecutive snatch lifts at 80, 80 and 81 kgs - within her current form as she has lifted 85kg in competition this year. This is the challenge that creates the drama in competition, you want to perform at your best, but you also need to ensure you have the opportunity to lift in to the C&J stage, which means posting at least one successful lift in the snatch stage.

The A group is on now, with the Snatch lifts just finishing and already there's a couple developments that I can see.

One, the press-out rule is bullshit IMHO. The press-out rule is supposed to eliminate applying a pressing action to the bar, which is visibly judged by observing any deliberate bend at the elbow enabling the lifter to press into a lock-out position. I'm fine with the press-out rule being applied to the rising phase of either lift, but it would make for a better contest if lifters were allowed an elbow bend in the snatch catch phase and jerk catch phase, stabilizing the bar and locking out before rising into the standing position.   

Two, China's Hou Zhihui is so far ahead in the Snatch lifts that she is only lifting to secure the lead. I thought she might've chanced a go at equaling her Snatch WR of 96kg, but instead went for the safety of 94kg. I suspect, unfortunately, that this is kind of what we're going to get from the Chinese (management) as they seek maximum gold over any performance bests.

----

Disappointment for Delacruz from the USA, a disqualified lift in the snatch which should've buoyed her for the medal hunt, but then failing to post a lift in the C&J. Chanu Mirabai kept Hou honest in the C&J, pushing her to set new Olympic Records (for this new weight category). Aisah from Indonesia was a surprise, her C&J lifts were solid, 3 from 3. But no denying the class of Hou, with 6 from 6 lifts.   

Gold: China - Hou Zhihui (94, 115, 210kg)
Silver: India - Chanu Mirabai (87, 115, 202kg)
Bronze: Indonesia - Windy Aisah (84, 110, 194kg)

[ithanos]

Good contest in the Men's 61kg category. The battle for the bronze was good, between Igor Son of Kazakhstan and Alsaleem of Saudi Arabia. Alsaleem should've got it but missed a key lift, and the bronze went to the young Son who I'm sure will feature again in the future.  

The favourite, Li Fabin missing his first snatch lift was uncharacteristic. It was a good contest between him and the experienced Eko Irawan of Indonesia. Li's first lift in the C&J will probably make the media rounds as he successfully balanced on one foot with 166kg overhead - great stuff. Then Li set an Olympic record of 172kg for his second C&J lift. Irawan went up to a WR 177kg attempt to claim the lead but failed two attempts. Kudos to Li though, having already won the Gold, for coming out to attempt a WR of 178kg as the last lift - but failing on a technicality.

And on that point, the judges have been particularly strict on the illegal movements (such as pressing out - many instances, touching any other part of the body to the ground except the feet - a literal ass to ground disqualifying one lift, and finally elbows touching knees - which got Li in his last lift). Every lifter has one challenge and its been used several times already but as yet I haven't seen an instance of the judges reversing a decision.

Gold: China - Li Fabin    141, 172 (OR), 313 (OR)
Silver: Indonesia - Eko Irawan  137, 165, 302
Bronze: Kazakhstan - Igor Son  131, 163, 294

Edit to add:

Excellent final session with the men's 67kg. There was passion in this session with competitors pulling off clutch lifts just to stay in competition. 4-way battle for the bronze with Italy's Zanni getting a clutch last lift to sneak away with the medal. Lozano was lucky, I thought, to get the favour of the jury, but he would be very happy with his total. Chen pulling out an OR equalling lift to seal yet another gold for China.  

Gold: China - Chen Lijun    145, 187 (OR), 332 (OR)
Silver: Columbia - Mosquera Lozano 151, 180, 331
Bronze: Italy - Mirko Zanni  145, 177, 322

[ithanos]

Women's 55kg Category.  

Wow, an upset. Coming in to this event, Liao from China looked a shoe-in.  But Diaz had an outstanding session which pipped Laio  at each lift to give her the Gold - and providing the Philippines with their first ever gold medal! The emotion when Diaz was completing her last lift was palpable. Got the clean up Ok, and the depth of her split jerk stance said it all - she was at her limit but was able to stand, get the judges nod, then the tears and celebrations began. Absolutely fantastic, I was in tears of joy simply because she was in tears of joy!
 
Got to have some sympathy for Liao, she did absolutely nothing wrong, having successfully lifted 6 from - the only person to do so in this category, so the questions will be asked of her couches for underestimating the weight required to secure their lifter the top podium, as it was within her capability.

Philippines - Hidilyn Diaz  97, 127 (OR), 224 (OR)
China - Liao Quiyun 97, 126, 223
Kazahkstan - Chinshanlo Zulfiya 90, 123, 213

Notable lift: UZB Muattar Nabieva 98kg (OR) snatch

 

[ithanos]

Women's 59kg Category.

Kuo Hsing-Chun, the number one ranked weightlifter in the world (men or women) by Robi points, got to show her class today. Really no-one to challenge her, but you still have to post the lifts to set a total and she and her team have to be commended for pushing for the Olympic Record in her 2nd C&J lift, when she had already done enough for the gold in her 1st lift. Then having set that goal, she went for the World Record of 141kg but it was not to be. She holds that record still at 140, so perhaps we'll see her beat that in the near future. Emotional stuff when she received her medal and the anthem played. Emotional stuff for Andoh of Japan when she clinched her last lift, and very good silver for the 21year old Guryeva of Turkmenistan.

Taiwan  Kuo Hsing-Chun   103, 133 (OR), 236 (OR)
Turkmenistan    Polina Guryeva    96, 121, 217
Japan    Mikiko Andoh    94, 120, 214

[DireWolfSpirit]

Phillipines first ever Gold.

Good stuff!!

[ithanos]

Women's 64kg Category.

This was the late session yesterday. From the moment it became known Deng Wei (Olympic and multiple World Champion) and a couple others weren't making an appearance, this category became wide open, with Canada's Charron favourite. As a contest this was the tightest competition so far (and probably for the rest of the weightlifting event). Charron got clear with her 2nd C&J lift and that left five competitors vying for silver! High emotion, great stuff.  

Canada - Maude Charron    105, 131, 236
Italy - Giogia Bordignon  104, 128, 232
Taiwan - Chen Wen-Huei      103, 127, 230

[ithanos]

Men's 73kg Category.

Last night's men's 73kg was unusual in that a lifter (Erwin Abdullah from Indonesia) from the B group (who lifted earlier in the day) had set a total that was considered minimum to secure the Bronze. This posed an added mental challenge for those following in the A group. One of those lifters who this may have affected was CJ Cummings, had a disappointing opener and had to consolidate with his second lift. CJ seems to have been around for years but I forget he only turned 21 last month. Interestingly, Abdullah is also only 21 this year.

The snatch was always going to be Shi's to set himself apart from the chasing pack and he didn't disappoint, setting an OR lift of 166kg. And then setting himself up for an OR final lift of 198kg in the C&J and setting a WR in the total. Clutch lifting by one of the best. The C&J is where the chasing pack had some fun trying to best each other. Mayora coming away clear for the Silver with the others failing to pip Abdullah for the bronze.   

China        Shi Zhiyong    166*, 198*, 364*^ (*OR/^WR)
Venezuela   Julio Mayora    156, 190, 346
Indonesia   Erwin Abdullah  152, 190, 342

Weightlifting takes a break for a couple days and resumes again on Saturday.

[ithanos]

Two men's categories today.

Men's 81kg Category.

The Italian Pizzolato pushed Lyu Xiaojun to have to set an OR in the snatch and total to make sure of the gold. A tough night of lifting as no-one lifted 3/3 in the snatch, and only Bonnat achieving 3/3 in the C&J to secure the silver.

CHN    Lyu Xiaojun                       170*, 204*, 374*   *OR
DOM  Zacarias Bonnat Michel    163, 204, 367
ITA      Antonino Pizzolato              165, 200, 365

 

Men's 96kg Category.

With the absence of Tian Tao and Sourab Moradi, the gold was Meso Hassouna's to lose. The snatch was very competitive across the board with only 2kg separating the top 5 lifters. Some outstanding lifts through pain and determination from Pliesnoi (who clearly had a knee problem but lifted through the pain) and Vallenilla (who should've been given his ugly but good lift by the jury). But Meso has about 20kg over everyone else in this field in the C&J and he secured the gold with his first C&J lift. Then bless him he was pumped up enough to come out and go for the Olympic record and made it look easy. That elation is hard to turn into focus when he came out to attempt a World record lift, and being that he probably was thinking of the celebrations to come it was understandable that he missed it.  

QAT   Meso Hassouna El-Bakh   177, 225*, 402*      *OR
VEN   Sanchez Vallenilla      177, 210, 387
GEO   Anton Pliesnoi         177, 210, 387

[ithanos]

Guess I'd better keep posting these summaries as there's only today and tomorrow left in the competition.

Women's 76kg Category.
This was yesterday's only session and it was held last night - and it didn't disappoint in the drama stakes. Despair and glory as one lifter fails and gifts another a medal.

Dajomes exhibited superb confidence hitting 6 from 6 lifts, technically sound with all her lifts. Kat Nye had the opportunity to keep very close with Dajomes, but made a rookie error in her 3rd snatch lift when she successfully lifted the weight only to release the bar in celebration before it had dropped below the shoulders - thus incurring a jury review and a no lift. Still, Nye recouped to claim the silver. Tough event for Kim of Korea who was in the running for the bronze but got pinged by the judges twice for pressing out - allowing Zavala to claim the bronze.  
Dajomes and Nye are only 23yrs and 22yrs old respectively, so expect them to challenge each other in the coming years. In the end a well deserved gold for Dajomes - and the first ever Olympics Gold for a woman from Ecuador!  

ECU    Neisi Patricia Dajomes Barrera     118, 145, 263
USA    Kate Nye                                        111, 138, 249
MEX    Aremi Fuentes Zavala                   108, 137, 245

Women's 87kg Category.

Wang cleared away after the snatch lift and no one else had a monster C&J to peg back the difference. Great lifting from Salazar, 23yrs old and hitting 6 from 6 lifts.

CHN     Wang Zhouyu            120, 150, 270
ECU    Tamara Slazar            113, 150, 263
DOM    Crismery Santana        116, 140, 256

Women's +87kg Category.

This one's just starting. Its Li Wenwen's to lose. Gobles should be favoured for silver, leaving a raft of 3 or 4 contenders for the bronze, but we'll see.

[ithanos]

Women's +87kg Category.

The battle for Silver and Bronze was fantastic stuff! In the snatch lift, Li Wenwen cleared 140kg, a good 12kg more than anyone else - but the in that chasing pack were a good five contenders for the minor medals. Laurel Hubbard of NZ should've been one of them, but had her second lift failed for a press out - which to my eye it looked within the level that has been accepted by the judges and jury in this tournament. I was a little surprised her coaches didn't challenge the call as they had nothing to lose in doing so. Then missing her third lift put her out of the competition.
 
The C&J turned out very competitive with Lee from Korea right on the heels of Gobles from USA. But also Emily Campbell of GBR in touch with her early lifts. Lee bombed her last lift which guaranteed at least a Bronze for Campbell, but then Gobles, looking to get a couple kgs clear of Campbell pressed out in her last lift and it was disallowed by the jury. This left Campbell with a chance to steal the Silver. She had already hit a PB with her second lift but added 5kg more for her final lift, which would get ahead of Gobles by 1kg - cleaned it well, then managed to lock out, stagger and stand secure for a legal lift and claim the Silver (it was actually 1st/Gold position at the time since Li Wenwen hadn't lifted a C&J yet). The first medal in Olympics weightlifting for a British woman if I'm not mistaken. Then Li Wenwen came out and showed why she is the WR holder, setting a new ORs in her 2nd and 3rd C&J lifts and a new OR for the total. An excellent session of lifting and competition.
 

CHN     LI Wenwen    140*, 180*, 320*   *OR
GBR    Emily Campbell    122, 161, 283
USA    Sarah Gobles     128, 154, 282

 

[ithanos]

Men's 109kg Category.

The only weightlifting session today.

Tight contest this one, especially when it got to the C&J. I leave a lot out in these summaries as their is emotion and despair in failed lifts, or seemingly good lifts that are disallowed. There is also the backroom hustle at the timers table where weights are set and coaches look to force competitors out with shortened rest time after a failed lift.
   
The judges continue to be strict with the press-out rule, but it can be challenged as was the case with a snatch lift of 177kg from Brain Kitts (USA). Kitts' team used their one challenge card successfully with the jury allowing the lift. I'm happy with a small elbow bend or 'press-out' and definitely don't see it as aiding with the lift - If anything I reckon it makes the lift harder! I thought the lift was alright and was surprised when the jury agreed. Jin Yunseung (KOR) also had a lift of 185kg failed by the judges for press-out, but his one challenge was unsuccessful. Applying rules strictly is all & good but only if it is done consistently and I don't think the Judges & Jury have been during this tournament.   

Martitosyan was the silver medalist from Rio, and favoured to finish one higher here, but he just couldn't jerk the 238kg he needed to pip an impressive Djuraev. Djuraev pulled out a nice Jerk finish to lift 237kg, a new OR for that lift, and new OR total of 430kg. Good contest between the two. And Plesneiks deservedly third with 3/3 in the C&J.

 

UZB    Akbar Djuraev             193, 237*, 430*    *OR  
ARM     Simon Martirosyan    195, 228, 423
LAT    Artus Pleisnieks    180, 230, 410

 

[ithanos]

Men's +109kg Category.

And now we arrive at the final session of the weightlifting competition, starting soon. These are big men, but literally the biggest of them all is Lasha Talakhadze at 1.97m(6ft 6in) weighing circa 170kg - considered the greatest super-heavy weightlifter of all time. The new body-weight categories were introduced in 2019 in part as a desire to provide a clean slate of sorts, from which new Olympic and World Records could be set - as the old records were felt to be drug-tainted. One can still find the historical records and compare them along similar body-weight ranges - from which you can see that none of the new records have eclipsed the historic ones. None except for the men's super-heavy category. Lasha's 222kg Snatch and 485kg total are the heaviest ever in competition. His 264kg C&J is second only to Taranenko's 266kg in competition but many pundits are expecting that to be challenged tonight.     

Snatch:
Some contrasting styles with these big guys. From the relaxed, headphone donned David Liti (NZL) to the quick Man Assad (SYR). Asaad's looking in good form, nice lifting. Lasha still to come out but everyone else has been successful with their first lifts, which is great, means they'll all at least get to the C&J part. But again the judges and jury are tough with their press-out cull. Ali Davoudi (IRI) cynching 3/3 finishing on a competent 200kg. And then Lasha comes out. 208kg for his first lift to secure the lead. Then 215kg for his second lift to set an new Olympic Record for the category. Great theatre from Lasha and his team as they set 221kg for the final snatch lift, which is 1kg below Lasha's own World Record, then at the last moment increase it to 223kg for a WR attempt - to the great cheers from all in attendance. It astounds me how technically smooth Lasha's snatch lift is for such an enormous person. 223kg flies up from the ground and is caught with almost no drop, and a new World Record is set with ease.   

Clean & Jerk:
Great lifting from David Liti on his first two lifts setting personal records, though outside the medals. Ali Davoudi setting himself clear into the Silver medal position with a 241kg C&J and total of 441kg. Man Asaad securing the bronze with 2/3, 234kg and total of 424kg.
Lasha, whose C&J is not as good as his outstanding snatch lifts, comes out and C&Js 245kg to secure the Gold. For his second lift of 255kg his clean is easy and then the jerk stabilises for a valid lift. And for his final lift, the final lift of the Olympic Weightlifting tournament he comes out to attempt 265kg. The clean is good, the bar rises so quickly, then the Jerk turns out better than his second lift and the lift is counted. A new World Record total of 488kg!   

GEO Lasha Talakhadze        223kg*^, 265kg*, 488kg*^    *OR / ^WR
IRI    Ali Davoudi                200kg, 241kg, 441kg
SYR   Man Asaad               190kg, 234kg, 442kg