Georgia’s Lasha Talakhadze won his second Olympic gold medal in the super heavyweight category on the last day of the weightlifting competition at the Tokyo International Forum on Wednesday.
Rio 2016 champion Talakhadze, 27, brought the absorbing and headline-grabbing weightlifting competition to a fitting finale in its showpiece +109kg category to win his country’s second gold medal in Tokyo.
The 6ft 6in, 380-pounder, who claimed +105kg gold in Brazil before the International Weightlifting Federation restructured the weight categories, reigned supreme with a mesmerizing lift total of 488kg to match the golden result of judoka Lasha Bekauri who won 90kg gold a week ago.
Tbilisi native Talakhadze, who rejected overtures from other countries who tried to prise him away from competing for Georgia on the international stage, was given a two-year ban in 2013 after he tested positive for the banned substance stanozolol before returning in 2015 and a year later winning his first Olympics.
The double Olympic champion finished a whopping 47kg ahead of his nearest rival as he recorded a 223kg snatch for a new world and Olympic record and achieved the same feat in the clean and jerk with a staggering lift of 265kg. Weightlifting’s final Tokyo 2020 gold medalist broke his own snatch world record, which he set in April, by one kilogram and broke his own clean and jerk record by the same margin, with the latter record having stood since 2019.
Iran’s Ali Davoudi, 22, took silver with a total of 441kg thanks to a 200kg snatch effort and a 241kg clean and jerk.
Syria’s Man Asaad, 27, won bronze with a combined total of 424kg following a 190kg snatch and a 234kg clean and jerk.
Gold medalist Talakhadze said: “I feel very happy about it. It was a long training period during this pandemic. I had a great dream and excitement to win the gold medal again (after Rio 2016). That dream came true again.
“I have just gained for a second time an Olympic gold medal and, of course, I have also set a new world record.”
Talakhadze described what it meant to see the Georgian national flag and to hear his anthem from the podium.
“When I was standing on the podium hearing my country’s national anthem it was most exciting because we were for a long time looking forward to this Olympic Games and winning this gold.”
Talakhadze, who revealed his intentions to compete at Paris 2024, spoke about finishing so far ahead of his rivals.
“Each of my opponents are strong opponents, my achievements look high, but they are all just opponents which are well valued and appreciated by me. My major thought (during competition) is that I want to win myself.”
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