Asian Games | Iran’s Sohrab Moradi lifts 189kg to break oldest weightlifting world record
Sohrab Moradi has broken the snatch record set at 188kg in 1999 by Greece’s Akakios Kakiasvilis as he secured a gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia. Moradi already held records in the clean and jerk (233kg) and total weight (417kg) events in the men’s light heavyweight division.
Iranian weightlifter Sohrab Moradi shattered the snatch record, which was set at 188 kg in 1999 by Greece’s Akakios Kakiasvilis as he lifted a record 189 kg in the men’s 94kg class at the Asian Games on Saturday. In doing so, the Iranian secured gold at the Asian showpiece and earned Iran their 13th gold medal in the overall tally.
Now, Moradi has a complete set of world records as he earlier already owned the marks for the clean and jerk (233kg) and total weight (417kg) in the men’s light heavyweight division. He went on to lift a new Asian Games record total of 410kg after a clean and jerk of 221kg. The 29-year old failed with an attempt at 234kg which would have bettered his own world record for the clean and jerk and total lifts. Fares Elbakh managed to win silver for Qatar’s first weightlifting medal of the Games while Thailand’s Sumpradit Sarat won the bronze.
The Asian Games was Moradi's last chance to complete the set as all of the sport's weight classes will change after the quadrennial showpiece before the Olympic qualifying cycle, which will start come November's World Championships in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
"I really wanted to break the world record as it was the only one I didn't have and this was my last chance. I feel very happy to know that my name will always remain on all the 94kg world records," Moradi said.