ZCZC
BSP-04
ASIAD-2018-WEIGHTLIFTING
No ordinary Choe: North Korean makes epic lift to win gold
JAKARTA, Aug 23, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Choe Jon Wi pulled out the greatest lift
of his life to edge a titanic battle of the Koreas and secure the fourth
weightlifting gold for the North in an epic 77kg men’s final Thursday.
Later Taiwan’s world champion Kuo Hsing-chun dismantled the Thai Olympic
champion Srisurat Sukanya to win her country’s first gold in the women’s
58kg.
South Korea’s Kim Woo-jae had looked as if he had turned the tables on
Choe, his rival from across the heavily armed Korean border, when he
succeeded with 187kg to give him a massive 347kg total.
Choe was floundering on 340kg, but the 25-year-old student smashed his
lifetime best, set in coming eighth at the 2016 Rio Olympics, by 3kg as he
somehow hauled 193kg above his head for victory.
“It was the biggest weight I have ever lifted, I never even did that in
training,” a delighted Choe told AFP.
It sparked frenzied celebrations as he set off punching the air wildly
before leaping from the stage into the arms of his coach, as Woo watched in
stunned silence from the warm-up area.
In the women’s 58kg, Taiwanese national icon Kuo only needed her opening
lift of 125kg in the clean and jerk to blow away Srisurat and clinch gold.
She returned but failed by a whisker with a 143kg attempt that would have
extended her own clean and jerk world record.
Kuo became a national hero in Taiwan after she set the world record at
142kg on home soil at the 2017 Universiade in Taipei, after winning a bronze
behind Srisurat at the 2016 Olympics.
Kuo, who added Asian Games gold to her 2017 world title, won with a total
of 235kg, 11kg ahead of Srisurat, and now only needs the Olympic title to
complete a grand slam of major wins.
“This is the first step on the path to gold in Tokyo 2020,” a still
beaming Kuo told AFP after receiving her medal. “It’s a great beginning.”
– ‘I wanted the record’ –
Kuo will defend her world title in November and is carrying the mantle for
Taiwanese weightlifting after double Olympic champion and world record holder
Hsu Shu-ching retired two months ago.
“I wanted to challenge for the record with that final lift,” she added.
“so I asked my coach and he said: ‘Go for it’.”
Mikiko Andoh snatched bronze, the first weightlifitng medal for a Japanese
woman since 1994, with her final lift of 127kg.
And earlier Thailand’s Chinnawong Chatuphum became the only Thai man to
win two Asian Games medals after repeating his bronze performance of 2014.
Woo’s silver was South Korea’s first medal in weightlifting of the 2018
Asiad and their 75th in the history of the Asian Games. Only China (76) and
Iran (79) have won more.
It was also only the second North-South one-two in Asian Games
weightlifting history after Yang Eui Yong beat Lee Myung-Soo in the men’s
56kg event in 1978.
North Korea have already matched their 2014 Asian Games record haul of
four weightlifting golds following victories for O Kang Chol (men’s 69kg), Ri
Song Gum (women’s 48kg) and Om Yun Chol (men’s 56kg) earlier in the week.
They look certain to increase that tally further with powerhouses China
and Kazakhstan banned eight of the 15 gold medals still up for grabs.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1900 hrs