Weightlifter Sohrab Moradi improved the record in the 94kg snatch category with one kilogram after lifting 189kg in the Asian Games in Jakarta on Saturday.
Moradi broke the world’s longest standing record which was set in 1999 by the Georgian-Greek lifter Kakhi Kakhiashvili during the World Championships in Athens. Kakhiashvili had lifted 188kg at the time and his record remained intact for 19 years until Moradi bettered it by one kilogram.
Besides breaking the world record, Moradi also won the snatch gold medal of the category.
Iranian man of steel successfully lifted 182kg in his first attempt. In the second Moradi failed to handle the 189kg weight but in his third attempt, cold steel surrendered to the Iranian weightlifter.
Moradi said in an interview before the games that he wants to shake the 19-year record. Now his wish has come true. The lifter also took the gold medal in the clean and jerk category by lifting 221kg in the first attempt.
He also tried but failed to break his own world record in clean and jerk with a 234kg barbell to improve it by one kilo.
Last December Moradi lifted 233kg at the World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California and established a new clean and jerk record in the 94kg category.
On Saturday, Moradi’s total count reached 410kg, seven kilos bellow his own world record but enough to bring him gold in the total category at the Asian Games.
Impressive Collection
His trophy collection includes gold medals from the 2016 Rio Olympics, 2017 Anaheim World Championships and Asian Championships in 2009 and 2012 and now the title of the Asian Games.
The 94kg class is now under Moradi’s full control with his records in all three categories (snatch, clean and jerk, total).
In the Anaheim games Sohrab’s marvelous move in handling the 233kg steel barbell beat the previous record held by Polish Szymon Kolecki for 17 years. On the same stage he set a record of 417kg as the new world record in total.
The other Iranian lifter in the same weight class, Kianoosh Rostami, set a record of 175kg in snatch division putting him in second place of the category but failing in all three clean and jerk attempts put him out of the medal race.
Asian Games was the first stage for Rostami after changing his weight class from 85kg (in which he won the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medal and World Championships title) to 94kg.
Qatari Fares Elbakh took the silver medal with 381kg and Thai Sarat Sumpradit settled for bronze in the 380kg total.
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