Weightlifting: Olivia Reeves and Karlos Nasar take gold

Olivia Reeves from team USA. GETTY IMAGES

Luo Shifang from the People’s Republic of China won the weightlifting 59kg gold medal with a total of 241 kg at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Thursday 8 August.

Bulgaria’s Karlos Nasar secured the men’s weightlifting 89 kg gold medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Friday 9 August, before lifting 224kg in the clean and jerk to earn a new World Record. This also gave him a World Record in the overall lift with 404 kg. Yeison Lopez from Colombia took silver with a total of 390 kg, and Italy’s Antonino Pizzolatto won bronze with 384 kg.

The Paris 2024 women’s 71kg weightlifting competition saw Olympic history made as the USA’s Olivia Reeves won gold, setting a new snatch Olympic record of 117kg. She followed with a clean & jerk of 145kg for a total of 262kg.

Colombia’s Mari Leivis Sanchez took silver with a 112kg snatch and 145kg clean & jerk for a 257kg total. And Ecuador’s Angie Paola Palacios Dajomes took bronze with a 116kg snatch and 140kg clean & jerk for a 256kg total.

Reeves’ win marks the first Olympic weightlifting championship title for the United States since Tara Nott won the flyweight division at Sydney 2000.

Breaking records from the start

Luo Shifang was the clear winner on the day in -59kg.  Both Luo’s total lift and her individual snatch and clean and jerk lifts were new Olympic records for the weight class.

Canada’s Maude Charron took silver with a total lift of 236 kg, just beating Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Hsing-Chun, who won bronze.

The other category that took place today was the Men’s 73kg. Rizki Juniansyah, the Indonesian weightlifter became the strongest of the day winning the gold medal, a position that gave his country the first-ever gold medal in weightlifting at the Olympic Games while also achieving a new Olympic and World record in the Clean & Jerk before the 3rd attempt. Indeed, with this one, it’s the second gold medal from Indonesia in this Games.

Thailand’s Weeraphon Wichuma took silver on 346kg, setting a junior world record in the clean and jerk with a 198kg lift. Finally, Bozhidar Andreev of Bulgaria won bronze with a total of 344kg.

Hou Zhihui of the People’s Republic of China defended her Olympic title in dramatic fashion at the South Paris Arena on Wednesday, 7 August, setting an Olympic record in the clean-and-jerk to secure the gold medal in women’s 49kg weight class of weightlifting at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

It was a sensational victory that won her copious applause from the audience and joyous praise from her coaches. Hou lifted her arms in triumph, celebrating what she had just accomplished and reflecting on how she got there. “Before my final lift, I thought about my family, my team here and my country all backing me up,” said Hou. “That’s what motivated me to make it happen on the final lift. I was really relieved after the final lift that broke the Olympic record.”

It was a tense two hours at the South Paris Arena, as athletes faltered and triumphed in successive lifts. Romania’s Mihaela Valentina Cambei set herself up as the woman to beat in the women’s 49kg weight category, completing an electrifying series of lifts that saw her raise 93kg above her head to take the lead at the halfway mark of the event.

Romania's Mihaela Valentina Cambei. GETTY IMAGES
Romania’s Mihaela Valentina Cambei. GETTY IMAGES

While Cambei was untouchable in the snatch, her rivals sensed an opportunity in the clean-and-jerk when she entered the competition at a lower weight than the other medal favourites. The Romanian lifter entered the clean-and-jerk at 106kg, while Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao entered the competition at 110kg, along with future gold medalist Hou, with India’s Mirabai Chanu Saikhom looking to make a statement by entering at 111kg.

Cambei’s decision to start with lower weights paid dividends, however, as she lifted 112kg in the clean-and-jerk to post a final total of 205kg. It was a tall order for her rivals, who began to falter after successfully lifting their entry weights.



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