Yahoo Finance Weightlifter Lifts 488kg and Breaks Three World Records in the Process
Winning a gold medal at the Olympics is a great achievement. Winning a gold medal and breaking three world records in the process is superhuman.
But that's exactly what Georgian strongman Lasha Talakhadze did when he broke three of his own world records to retain the men's super-heavyweight weightlifting Olympic title, which he first won at Rio 2016.
Talakhadze managed a combined lift of 488kg (223kg for the snatch and 265kg for the clean and jerk), meaning he lifted 47kg more than his closest competitor, Iran's Ali Davoudi.
"I feel pretty good," Talakhadze said through an interpreter. "I have just gained a second Olympic gold medal and of course I have also set another world record.
"We were for a long time looking forward to the Olympics and to win this gold."
Although Talakhadze dominated the competition from start to finish, but he nearly didn't walk away with three world records.
Initially, for his third snatch, Talakhadze called for 221kg, which would have been one kilo shy of his world record. However, after hearing cheers from the crowd, he increased the weight to 223kg. He also lifted one kilo more than his world record in the clean and jerk.
Unsurprisingly, with his success, Talakhadze plans to compete at Paris 2024, but whether weightlifting will still be an Olympic sport by then remains to be seen.
The sport is facing the risk of removal from the Games over persistent doping issues, and Talakhadze himself served a two-year doping ban between 2013 and 2015.
However, he now believes offenders should be "punished" but the sport should be included in the Paris Games.
"Those who deserve punishment should be punished and weightlifting should remain in the programme," he said.
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