Weightlifting World Championships:
Iranians in the mix to capitalize on Talakhadze’s absence
Lasha Talakhadze’s decision to skip next month’s IWF World Championships means weightlifting fans could be treated to the tightest race for the superheavyweight crown in years.
A triple world-record holder in the men’s +109kg weight class, the Georgian sensation picked up a milestone third successive Olympic gold in August, in what was deemed as an average campaign by his standards.
Clearly far from his dominant form in Paris, Talakhadze finished second to Bahrain’s Gor Minasyan in the snatch event, and then did just enough to top the clean & jerk contest with 255kg and secure the ultimate prize with 470kg in total – 18 kilograms shy of the Games record he had set in Tokyo three years ago.
With Talakhadze out of the picture, a handful of top contenders will now be looking to make the most of his absence when the world event gets underway in Manama on December 4.
Armenian Varazdat Lalayan, who took the silver in Paris, will be the favorite to finish atop the podium in the Bahraini capital, and become the first weightlifter other than the Georgian giant to win the world superheavyweight gold since Russian Ruslan Albegov did in 2014.
A winner of two silvers and a bronze in the previous three editions of the World Championships, Lalayan has registered a highest entry record of 460kg – alongside the host’s Minasyan – for the upcoming competitions.
Minasyan is also tipped for success in Manama, having beaten Talakhadze and Lalayan to the top spot of the snatch contest in Paris by one kilogram before eventually settling for the bronze.
Simon Martirosyan, also from Armenia, was absent in Paris but has registered a tally of 450kg – third-highest in the 25-man entry list – and will be eager to add the +109kg glory to his double world titles in lower weight divisions.
Iranian trio
Iranian Ali Davoudi, who stood runner-up to Talakhadze in the Tokyo Olympics but missed out on the podium in Paris, is also in the mix, though he will have to improve on his entry record of 390kg to win a second world medal following his clean & jerk bronze in Riyadh last year.
Davoudi overcame 205kg in the Olympic snatch event, before starting his favorite C&J campaign with a 242kg lift.
A successful 257kg effort would have seen the Iranian win the bronze in Paris, but two failed attempts saw Davoudi finish fourth with 447kg.
Iran has also named Ayat Sharifi and former world junior champion Alireza Yousefi in the entry, list but only of them will join Davoudi in representing the country in the +109kg class.
Sharifi has submitted the same weight as Davoudi for entry – 10 kilograms more than Yousefi’s record.
Yousefi, however, is confident of making an impressive breakthrough in Manama, should he be given the opportunity to participate.
Yousefi, who established a new world junior C&J record of 246kg to win the 2023 Asian seniors’ silver behind Minasyan, said in an interview with Mehr News Agency last week that he has already set his sights on bettering Talakhadze’s 267kg-mark in the category in the Bahraini capital.