The exceptional Chinese athlete Zhiyong Shi (166 kg/198 kg) showed pure dominance in the weight category up to 73 kg and distanced the second-placed Venezuelan Julio Ruben Mayora Pernia (156 kg/190 kg) by 18 kilograms.

No surprise at all that China may become the dominant nation in these Olympic weightlifting events. The team from the “land of the rising sun” already won four gold medals and one silver medal after only five events with Chinese participation.

The 27-year-old Chinese Shi crowned his very personal show this Wednesday evening in Tokyo with a new world record in the total. After his first snatch attempt, it was clear that there was no way around this man from China. With three valid attempts and 166 kg he took the lead with a double-digit advantage over his opponents early on and was not to be deterred on his way.

He also started higher than his opponents in the clean and jerk. After an invalid second attempt at 192 kg, he increased to 198 kg (his current world record). Shi had to made this lift in order to increase his own world record in the total to 364 kg. After managing this load with almost habitual ease, the young man celebrated his victory in a familiar pose.

The fight for the medal sports behind the multiple world champion and now also two-time Olympic champion was a bit more exciting, even if the Venezuelan Mayora Pernia didn’t miss a beat. With 346 kg it was enough to sovereignly win the silver medal for the South American.
The Albanian Briken Calja (151 kg/190 kg) fought a long-distance duel for bronze against an athlete competing in the B-Group this morning. However, the Albanian lost out to Indonesian Rahmat Erwin Abdullah (152 kg/190 kg) by one kilogram. Abdullah competed already in the early morning in the B-group and set the standards for the later A-group including the top favorites with his performance.

Behind Calja, another European placed fifth, who is no stranger to German weightlifting fans in particular. Boshidar Andreev (154 kg/184 kg), who competes in the German national league for KSV Durlach, remained well below his best performance. Sixth place went to Tunisian Karem Ben Hnia (153 kg/185 kg) ahead of local hero Masanori Miyamoto (147 kg/188 kg) and Moldavian Marin Robu (155 kg/175 kg). It was Robu who got the last European Olympic spot in front of Germany’s Max Lang and is likely to remain one of Lang’s fiercest European competitors in the future.

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Missed opportunity for USA Weightlifting

However, the American exceptional talent CJ Cummings (145 kg/180 kg) also did not have the best day within the 73 kg competition. The highly-rated medal favorite showed nerves and only managed to score two valid attempts. But for Cummings, this competition was a great experience. The young man from South Carolina is only 21-years-old and therefore still has a long future ahead of him.

There are now laying two rest days ahead of all weightlifting fans before returning to the barbell on July 31st. Spectators can expect the events of the male up to 81 kg and up to 96 kg category. The German Nico Müller and the medal favorite Nino Pizzolato from Italy are part of the up to 81kg event.