99 kg Group A
Former Georgian Kakhiashvilis Sets World Record; Wins Gold for Greece
Akakide KAKHIASHVILIS of Greece won his second consecutive Olympic gold medal and set two world records Sunday in the 99 kg division of weightlifting at the Centennial Olympic Games. The 1992 gold medalist at Barcelona while representing Georgia, KAKHIASHVILIS cleaned and jerked a world record 235 kg (518 lbs) on his final attempt of the day, giving him a total of 420 kg (925.75 lbs), also a world record. KAKHIASHVILIS' lift marked the 15th world record set in the first eight days of weightlifting competition. Anatoly KHRAPATY of Kahazstan took the silver with a 410 kg (903.75 lbs) total after failing to overtake KAKHIASHVILIS on his final lift. Because KAKHIASHVILIS has a lighter body weight and therefore wins any tie between them, KHRAPATY was forced to attempt a clean and jerk of 227.5 kg (501.5 lbs) on his last lift in order to pass his Greek rival for first place. KHRAPATY cleaned the weight successfully, but lost his balance on the jerk attempt and was unable to complete the lift. With the gold securely tucked away, KAKHIASHVILIS went for the record, delighting the crowd at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Gold: Akakide KAKHIASHVILIS (GRE) 420 kg (925.75 lbs), New Olympic and World Record; Silver: Anatoli KHRAPATY (KAZ) 410 kg (903.75 lbs); Bronze: Denis Gotfrid (UKR) 402.5 kg (887.25 lbs).
``I knew I could do it,'' 99kg gold medalist Akakide KAKHIASHVILIS said of his record-setting final lift in the clean and jerk. ``I had lifted that much in training and I felt very confident. I didn't do it to show off.''
Korean CHOI Dong-Kil Wins Group B on Body Weight Tiebreaker
CHOI Dong-Kil of Korea edged Tharwat BENDARY of Egypt on Sunday to win Group B of the 99kg class in weightlifting at the Centennial Olympic Games. CHOI's lift of 207.5kg (457.25 lbs) on his second attempt pushed him past BENDARY, who had previously lifted 205kg (451.75 lbs). BENDARY had one final chance to retake the lead, but failed at 210kg (462.75). CHOI's total of 165kg (363.75 lbs) in the snatch and 207.5kg (457.25 lbs) in the clean and jerk left him with a 372.5kg (821 lbs) total. BENDARY matched that figure with a 167.5kg (369.25 lbs) snatch and his 205kg (451.75 lbs) clean and jerk, but CHOI finished ahead by virtue of a lighter body weight at Sunday morning's weigh-in. In Sunday's Group C, Edmilson DANTAS of Brazil easily outdistanced the field to win the group with a 335kg (738.5 lbs) total. DANTAS, who lifted 152.2kg (336 lbs) in the snatch and 182.5kg (402.25) in the clean and jerk, beat his closest competitor, Cristian ESCALANTE of Chile, by 20 kg. Yet another world record could fall in Sunday afternnon's Group A final which includes current world recordholders Sergey SYRTSOV of the Russian Federation and Anatoli KHRAPATIY of Kazakstan.
Group B results: 1. CHOI Dong-Kil (KOR) 372.5 kg (821 lbs); 2. Tharwat BENDARY (EGY) 372.5 kg (821 lbs); 3. Lorenzo CARRIO (ESP) 367.5 (810 lbs); 4. Aleksandr URINOV (UZB) 365 kg (804.5 lbs).
Group C results: 1. Edmilson DANTAS (BRA) 335 kg (738.5 lbs); 2. Cristian ESCALANTE (CHI) 315 kg (694.25 lbs); 3. Raed AHMED (IRQ) 302.5 kg (666.75 lbs); 4. Samuel NUNUKU PERA (COK) 285 kg (628.25 lbs).
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department.
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