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Turkish and Chinese Meet no Challenge at Lifting Worlds
Two time Olympic champion Halil Mutlu of Turkey met no challenge to dominate the men's 56-kg category weightlifting competition, winning three golds with one world record at the world championships Sunday in Antalya.
Mutlu, three-time world champion, snatched 137.5 kilograms and jerked 162.5 kilograms for a winning total of 300 kilograms, five times more than his bodyweight.
In the snatch, he also set a new world record in his second attempt at 138.5 kilograms.
Meanwhile in the women's 48kg category, Chinese novice Gao Wei overwhelmed her rivals and barbells to clean sweep the golds in the snatch, the jerk and the total.
The 16-year-old girl, making a world championships debut, had 85kgs in the snatch and 105kg in the jerk for a combined weight of 190kg.
In men's competition, which was amid the roar of fervored crowds, Mutlu could not find it be easier to win the 56-kg division.
After his nearest rival William Vargas of Cuba finished his last attempt of 127.5kg in the snatch, Mutlu appeared to the platform and asked 132.5kg in his first lift, which gave him a dominating lead in the race for the overall gold.
In the second snatch, Mutlu lifted 138.5kg, 0.5kg more than his own world record which was set at the Sydney Olympic Games last year.
While in the jerk, Mutlu almost got himself injured when he lifted 162.5kg in his first try. "I pushed my shoulder too far behind," he said at the press conference.
After failing his two trials of world record lift at 168.5kg in the jerk, Mutlu seemed very disappointed and angry, striking his knees with fists.
"I cannot say it was because of injury that I did not succeed in my last two lifts," he said. "I should have lifted that weight."
"Before the competition started, I know that I could win very easily. But for me, I need to achieve the best possible result. Sometimes, I try to achieve things beyond me."
Wang Shin-Yuan of Chinese Taipei was second in the category with a total weight of 280kg. Vargas was third at 277.5kg.
Chinese Novice Clean Sweeps Women's 48kg at Weightlifting Worlds Chinese women lifter Gao Wei had a clean sweep of three gold medals at the women's 48kg category in the world weightlifting championships Sunday in Antalya.
The 16-year-old student from China's Liaoning Province snatched 85kg and jerked 105kg for a winning total of 190kg.
"It is my first world championship and I couldn't say how glad I am," she said after victorious lifts.
Nigerian Blessed Udoh was second in the total at 175kg and Chen Han-tung of Chinese Taipei had the bronze at 170.
Udoh and Chen Han-tung also had the silver and bronze in the clean and jerk, at 100 and 95kg respectively.
The silver and bronze medals in the snatch went to Remigia Arcila of Venezuela and Gema Peris of Spain, at 77.5 and 75.
In both the snatch and jerk lifts, Gao Wei did not appear until all her rivals had finished their attempts. Her first attempts virtually had established her winning status in the division.
After overcoming the weight of 85kg in the snatch, she asked a world record weight of 88, but failed.
The fate repeated in the jerk, in which she lifted 105kg in her fist try. In the second and third lifts, she had 114 kilograms, 0.5 kgs more than the listed world mark which was set by Bulgarian Donka Mincheva in 1999, but the Chinese only found the barbell too heavy.
"I lifted the world record weight in the snatch in training, but I never succeeded in the world mark in jerk," said Gao.
She admitted she was a little bit nervous before the competition. "But after I stood at the platform, I was very calm,"she said.
Defending champion Mincheva withdrew from the competition in the last moment after she injured her left wrist in training.
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