China's Li Wenwen cruises to victory at IWF World Cup

Li Wenwen of China in action in the women's +87kg category at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in Phuket, Thailand on April 10, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

PHUKET, Thailand, April 10 (Xinhua) -- China's Li Wenwen regained her superiority in the super-heavyweight contest as she cruised to victory in the women's +87kg category at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup here on Wednesday.

Recovering from her injury at the IWF World Championships in September last year, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and world record holder lifted 145kg in the snatch and 180kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 325kg, outperforming her closest rival by 29kg to claim all three gold medals.

In the snatch, Li had her first attempt after her opponents had completed their competition, which was a manifestation of her dominance in the category, and her first attempt in the clean and jerk also beat all other competitors.

Li said the injury has allowed her to reflect on her problems. "Before I was injured, everything had gone too well for me. So I was stunned when it happened," she said.

"Then I started to reflect on my problems and realized there were some issues with my moves, so I trained my moves and that led to my performance today," she added.

The IWF World Cup, which serves as a qualifying event for Paris 2024, runs until April 11 in Phuket.