Davoudi misses out on podium as Talakhadze retains superheavyweight crown
Ali Davoudi’s quest for a second Olympic medal ended in vain as the Iranian weightlifter finished fourth in the men’s +102kg event on Saturday.
Georgian great Lasha Talakhadze made history by becoming the first superheavyweight weightlifter to win three successive Olympic gold, with Armenian Varazdat Lalayan and Bahrain’s Gor Minasyan taking the silver and bronze medals respectively.
A silver medalist at the Tokyo Games three years ago, Davoudi registered 205kg in the snatch event, and then began his favorite clean & jerk contest with a 242kg lift.
A successful 257kg would have seen the Iranian stand win the bronze, but two failed attempts saw Davoudi settle for 447kg in total.
It was always going to be a three-horse race featuring Lalayan, Minasyan, and Davoudi for the silver and bronze medals as the Talakhadze was the hot favorite for a landmark triumph in the French capital.
The Georgian, however, was far from his dominant form, finishing second to Minasyan in the snatch contest, while he just did enough with 255kg in the clean & jerk to secure the gold with 470kg in total – 22 kilograms shy of his world record.
Lalayan finished with 467kg for the runner-up spot, with Minasyan recording 461kg.