Weightlifting World Championships:
Yousefi sets new world record to clinch C&J gold in superheavyweight
A thrilling final day at the Weightlifting World Championships in Ningbo, China, saw Iran’s Alireza Yousefi win the clean & jerk gold in the men’s +110kg category, setting a new world record in the process, before claiming silver in the total on Sunday.
Yousefi’s fellow Iranian superheavyweight Ali Davoudi, meanwhile, settled for bronze in the snatch but missed out on the podium in the clean & jerk and total, finishing fourth in both events.
Ali Ammar Yusur, who controversially lost out to Davoudi in the race for gold at September’s Asian Games after being denied an attempt due to a timing error, made history by winning gold in the total and snatch, as well as silver in the clean & jerk, to become the first Iraqi world champion in an Olympic sport.
The snatch competition was hardly one to remember for Yousefi, who opened with a successful 186kg lift before clearing 191kg and 195kg on his next two attempts, but ultimately had to settle for fourth place.
Ammar claimed snatch gold with 211kg, although he failed to improve his own world record by one kilogram, missing his 220kg attempt.
Two-time defending champion Varazdat Lalayan, a silver medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, finished runner-up to Ammar with 210kg, four kilograms ahead of Davoudi.
In the clean & jerk, both Davoudi and Yousefi had two attempts remaining after Ammar had completed his campaign with 255kg, while Lalayan had one attempt left.
Lalayan went first but failed to lift 257kg, capping a disappointing championships for Armenia, which saw four of its lifters bomb out, one withdraw and none complete more than three of their six attempts. Lalayan’s 210-247-457 performance made him the country’s only total medalist, with bronze.
Yousefi initially lifted 258kg but had the attempt overturned because of bar oscillation. The Iranian and his coaching staff were visibly unhappy with the decision, arguing that the rules only penalize “deliberate oscillation” and that the bar had moved without any intervention from the lifter.
Remarkably, Yousefi, who had trailed Ammar by 16kg in the snatch, bounced back to lift a world-record 263kg and claim clean & jerk gold. The effort also propelled him past Lalayan into second place in the total with a combined 458kg (195-263).
Davoudi, who had lifted 262kg to win the Asian Games title, failed twice in his attempt to clear 261kg after opening with 246kg, finishing with a total of 452kg (206-246). Meanwhile, Ammar and the Iraqi coaching staff, including his father and coach, celebrated the historic achievement backstage.
Only four superheavyweights this century have recorded a total in the 460kg range by the age of 22, and the other three were in Ningbo: Iranian head coach Behdad Salimi, his legendary compatriot Hossein Rezazadeh, director of Iran’s national teams, and Georgian sensation Lasha Talakhadze, who withdrew from the B Group in his first international appearance since winning a third consecutive Olympic gold in Paris.
Sunday’s results took Iran’s medal tally to eight across four men’s weight categories at the championships.
Alireza Nasiri, who turns 21 next month, recovered from a slow start to claim two impressive silver medals with a 185-233-418 performance in the men’s 110kg category, where Uzbekistan’s Akbar Djuraev swept all three gold medals.
Nasiri’s compatriot Alireza Moeini, who won snatch gold and total silver in the 94kg category last year, had to settle for 12th place on his debut in the 110kg division. He posted a combined total of 388kg, lifting 180kg in the snatch and 208kg in the clean & jerk in the B Group.
Ali A’alipour, meanwhile, claimed three bronze medals in the 95kg category, posting a total of 396kg with lifts of 181kg in the snatch and 215kg in the clean & jerk.
Mir-Mostafa Javadi and Abdollah Beiranvand were the first Iranian lifters to take to the platform in Ningbo, finishing empty-handed in the 85kg category.
Beiranvand finished ninth with a total of 363kg (170kg in the snatch and 193kg in the clean & jerk), while former world champion Javadi placed 13th with 360kg (160kg and 200kg, respectively).
Iran collected 425 points to finish third in the men’s standings, behind North Korea and China, which amassed 533 and 527 points, respectively.