Wroclaw (Poland) - Chinese lifter Chen Lijun performed a miraculous lift to beat Olympic champion Kim Un Guk of North Korea and win the gold of men’ s 62-kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old Chinese, who failed in his first two attempts to clear 173kg in clean and jerk, lifted 175kg in the third and final attempt to end with 321kg in total, one kilogramme more than Kim’s total. Colombian Oscar Mosquera won the bronze with a total of 316kg.
Chen finished the snatch competition with 146kg, four kilogrammes less than Kim’s result. The Korean performed not as well as expected in clean and jerk and only lifted 170kg, giving Chen chance to overtake him in total.
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“I had to take chance,” Chen said. “Before the competition started, I knew Kim was very good in snatch, but not as good in clean and jerk, so if I did well there I could beat him.”
“And maybe I just wanted too much to perform well, I failed in my first two attempts. Before I went to the stage to take the third attempt, I forgot Kim, the gold, the weight and everything, I just wanted to give my best,” he said.
