Jang Yeon-hak (27, Asan City) stood on the podium for the first time in his career at the World Weightlifting Championships.
Zhang lifted 182 kilograms on the snatch, 217 kilograms on the bar and 399 kilograms in the men’s 102-kilogram competition at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday (local time).
Jang finished third in the snatch and jerk, and second in the all-important total.
At the Olympics and Asian Games, medals are awarded for the total score alone, but at the World Championships, medals are awarded for the vault, beam, and total.
Jang won one silver and two bronze medals.
After a string of disappointing results at the World Championships, including 10th place in 2018, 9th place in 2019, and disqualifications in 2021 and 2022, Jang shook off her bad luck in Riyadh.
A silver medalist in the men’s 85 kg at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, Zhang will look to make it two in a row at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which begin on September 23. As the 102kg category is not an official event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Zhang will compete in the 109kg category.
Yauheni Chikhanchov, 25, took first place in the vault with a lift of 183 kilograms, but finished ninth in the dragon with 211 kilograms, allowing Zhang, who finished third in both the vault and dragon, to surpass Chikhanchov (394 kilograms) in the total.
Chikanchov, a Belarusian national, competed as an “individual eligible athlete” (AIN) at the Games.
The International Weightlifting Federation conditionally allowed athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus to compete at the World Championships after the latter invaded Ukraine, categorizing them as “AINs” who are not allowed to use their national flags and anthems.
Russia did not compete in the event in protest, while Belarus sent 10 athletes.
Liu Huanhua (22-China) won this weight class with a total of 404 kilograms. Liu Hwan-hwa finished fourth with 180 kilograms in the vault, but bounced back with 224 kilograms in the rings.
Kim Soo-hyun (28-Busan City Sports Association) finished second in the women’s 76kg category, but missed out on a medal by 1kg in the total.
Kim succeeded in lifting 106 kilograms to take second place behind Sara Ahmed (25-Egypt), who lifted 109 kilograms.
However, she could only manage 133 kilograms in the vault and finished fourth in the total (239 kilograms).
The bronze medalist in the all-around, Bella Paredes (21-Ecuador), scored 240 kg (105 kg on vault and 135 kg on floor), one kilogram higher than Kim.
Ahmed swept the three gold medals in the all-around (246 kg) with a first-place finish on the beam (138 kg), while Helen Escobar (24, Ecuador) finished second with a total of 242 kg.
After finishing the World Championships on a disappointing note, Kim will be back in action at the Hangzhou Asian Games. 안전놀이터
