Kim Soo-hyun (29, Busan Metropolitan City Sports Council) won three gold medals in the women’s 81kg class at the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships.
Kim Soo-hyun lifted 110kg in snatch, 144kg in clean and jerk, and 254kg in total in the women’s 81kg class competition held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on the 8th (local time).
She took first place in all three categories.
Unlike the Olympics and Asian Games, which award medals based solely on total records,
the Asian Weightlifting Championships awards awards in all three categories. 안전놀이터
Kim Soo-hyun took home three gold medals by keeping a ‘clean sheet’ by successfully completing the 1st to 3rd rounds of the snatch and the 1st to 3rd rounds of the clean and jerk.
Following Won Jong-beom (27, Gangwon Provincial Office) in the men’s 96kg class, the second ‘Korean champion’ emerged in this competition.
This is the first time that Kim Soo-hyun competed in the 81kg class at an international competition.
Last year, he won the 76kg class at the Asian Weightlifting Championships and won a bronze medal in the 76kg class at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Kim Soo-hyun, who shifted his attention to the Paris Olympics opening in July this year,
decided to get used to the 81kg weight class.
In the Hangzhou Asian Games weightlifting, the women’s division was organized into 7 weight classes (49 kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 64 kg, 76 kg, 87 kg, and over 87 kg),
but in the Paris Olympics, there were 5 women’s divisions.
It is reduced to weight classes (49 kg, 59 kg, 71 kg, 81 kg, and over 81 kg).
Kim Soo-hyun is overcoming the negative news of ‘his weight class’ disappearing from the Paris Olympics with his unique bright energy.
By winning the Asian Championships on this day, Kim Soo-hyun raised his Paris Olympic qualifying ranking from 11th to tied for 6th.
At the Paris Olympics, 12 athletes per weight class will compete.
Kim Soo-hyun’s trip to Paris has become very likely.
In an interview with the Asian Weightlifting Federation, Kim Soo-hyun said,
“Now I have improved in the 81 kg weight class.
I am heading toward the Paris Olympics. Everything is good.
I am preparing well and I have no pain.”
Kim I-seul (23, Incheon Metropolitan City Hall), who also competed, won two bronze medals with 105 kg in snatch, 133 kg in jerk and jerk, and 238 kg in total.
Although Kim Iseul only ranked 4th in the snatch, she came in 3rd in the clean and jerk, raising her overall ranking to 3rd.
Ryzina Adashbaev (22, Uzbekistan) took second place in this weight class with a total weight of 243 kg (107 kg snatch, 136 kg total).
In the women’s 76kg class, Jeong Chun-hee (25, North Korea) won with 111kg in snatch,
125kg in clean and jerk, and 236kg in total.
All 11 North Korean athletes who participated in this tournament ranked first in their weight class.
Jang Seong-guk, an official who interprets medalists at major international competitions in which North Korea participates,
said in an interview with the Asian Weightlifting Federation,
“This is the first time in the history of North Korean weightlifting that all athletes participating in an international competition have won gold medals,”
“China did not participate in this competition.”
“Next time, I want to confidently compete with China.
North Korean weightlifting has excellent coaches, and the athletes are training hard, he said.”