Ivan Stoitsov of Bulgaria clinched the gold medal with his last good lift in men's 77kg category at the weightlifting world championships in Chiang Mai on Friday.
The 22-year-old Stoitsov combined lifts of 158kg in the snatch with 205kg in the clean and jerk to finish with 363kg.
Stoitsov, placed eighth in Athens Olympics, thought losing weight before the competition made him less powerful than before.
"I lost 5kg. Though the result was my personal best, I think I will do better next time," he told the press.
"Athens Olympics was my first time to compete in the international event and I did a good job there," he said.
"I think I will do the same thing as I did in Chiang Mai."
He did not take any advantage in the snatch since his 158kg result was only placed sixth, 8kg less than the snatch leader, Asian champion Li Hongli of China.
Li, 27, buckled under the 195kg in his first two lifts in the clean and jerk, and hoisted the barbell over his head tremblingly in the last lifts to finish with a total of 361kg, leaving the battle earlier than he had expected.
Gevorg Davtyan of Armenia, European champion in 2007, threw the last decisive lift to Stoitsov when he jerked 198kg to take the lead with a total of 362kg.
Stoitsov stepped onto to the platform calmly, jerked the winning lift of 205kg, 5kg more than his second attempt in the jerk.
"I was quite confident with my last lift. I knew I can do that, " Stoitsov said.
The 24-year-old Davtyan claimed the silver medal and Li took the bronze.
"I should learn lessons from the world championships and work harder to prepare for the Beijing Olympics," said Davtyan.
"I think next time in Beijing, I will perform better than the man (Stoitsov) sitting beside me," he added.
"I didn't feel comfortable several days ago. In the jerk, I found myself lack of power," said Li.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article