Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-20 01:55:24

(BEIJING, August 20) — Matthias Steiner of Germany won the gold medal in the Men’s 105kg category with the last lift of the competition in a climactic finale of the Beijing Olympic Weightlifting tournament on Tuesday at the BUAA Gymnasium in Beijing.

Russian strongman Evgeny Chigishev led at the halfway mark with a 210kg Snatch ahead of Artem Udachyn of Ukraine with 207kg, reigning world champion Viktors Scerbatihs of Latvia with 206kg, and Steiner in fourth place with 203kg.

Udachyn was out of the race early in the Clean and Jerk, with just one success at 235kg and placed fourth.

Scerbatihs was in a good position, as the Clean and Jerk is his stronger lift. After an opening 242kg, however, he inexplicably failed to come out for his second attempt and was left with just one try for Gold.

Chigishev completed all his attempts. His final lift of 250kg gave him a total of 460kg and what seemed to be a tight grip on the gold medal.

Steiner struggled on his first attempt and missed 246kg. To give himself time to recover, he increased to 248kg, which he made on his second attempt.

Scerbatihs then called for 257kg on his final attempt in an effort to take the gold from Chigishev by 1kg. He came close but failed to hold the weight overhead and had to settle for the Bronze medal.

Steiner then took an increase of 10kg over his second attempt and against all odds succeeded with 258kg to seal the gold medal.

“I didn’t do well in my first attempt of clean and jerk. But the Russian lifter did, so this was the motivation.” said Steiner.

“Before the competition, I was a little bit nervous. But after missing my first attempt of clean and jerk, it helped me get into it [mentally],” he said. “It means a lot to me to achieve this dream,”

What touched the spectators more than his fabulous performance was the photo of his wife who had recently passed away that he held during the medal ceremony.

“Of course this Gold is for my wife, also my friends, my German coach and all of the people who have helped me. But first it’s for her. During the competition I did not think so much about her, because I had to stay in the competition. But afterwards, of course, I missed her a lot.”

Updated: 2008-08-19 21:38:05

Matthias Steiner (C), Evgeny Chigishev (L), Viktors Scerbatihs (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Germany’s Matthias Steiner won the gold medal in the Men’s 105kg Weightlifting class at the Beijing Olympic Games on Tuesday.

Steiner hoisted 203kg in Snatch and 258kg in Clean and Jerk for a winning total of 461kg.

Russia’s Vgeny Chigishev took silver on 460kg, and Viktors Scerbatihs of Latvia had bronze on 448kg.

Matthias Steiner poses. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Matthias Steiner (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Matthias Steiner (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Matthias Steiner takes a lift. (Photo credit: Yang Lei/Xinhua)
Matthias Steiner celebrates his victory. (Photo credit: Yang Lei/Xinhua)
Matthias Steiner kisses the plate. (Photo credit: Yang Lei/Xinhua)

Updated: 2008-08-19 20:40:45

Matthias Steiner during the final (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 19) — On his final lift, Matthias Steiner of Germany pulled ahead of Russia’s Evgeny Chigishev to win the Men’s Over 105 kilogram Weightlifting final on Tuesday, August 19. Steiner lifted a total of 461kg, 203kg in the Snatch and 258kg in the Clean and Jerk, to beat Chigishev by one kilogram for the gold.

Viktors Scerbatihs of Latvia finished with a total of 448kg for the bronze medal.

Steiner lifted 198kg on his first Snatch attempt, followed by 203kg and then an unsuccessful 207kg attempt. Chigishev had a perfect performance all night, beginning with three successful lifts ending with 210kg in the Snatch. Latvia’s Scerbatihs finished third place after the Snatch with 206kg, as Ukraine’s Artem Udachyn finished 1kg better with 207kg.

Jeon Sang-guen from the Republic of Korea bombed-out in the Snatch.

These rankings were all changed by the Clean and Jerk portion of the competition. Udachyn could only succeed on his second attempt of 235kg and finished with a 442kg total. Scerbatihs, meanwhile, succeeded right off the bat with 242kg, but could not manage another lift and ended at 448kg in the total, enough to beat the Ukranian Udachyn out of third place.

Steiner missed his first attempt of 246kg, but succeeded in lifting 248kg on the second try. Chigishev breezed through the Clean and Jerk, going from 240kg to 250kg for a total finish of 460kg. Germany’s Steiner needed a final lift of 258kg, 10kg more than his second attempt, to edge the Russian lifter for the gold. In a dramatic Olympic moment, Steiner lifted exactly what he needed to clinch his victory.

Steiner finished seventh in the 2004 Olympics in the 105kg weight category, and took the gold in the 2008 European Championship over 105kg Snatch competition, bronze in the Clean and Jerk and silver overall with a total weight of 446kg.

Updated: 2008-08-19 03:00:32

(Photo credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 18) — After “The Iranian Hercules,” Hossein Rezazadeh, who has dominated Men’s over-105 kilogram Weightlifting since the late 1990s and pocketed two Olympic gold medals (2000, 2004), announced his withdrawal decision shortly before the start of Beijing 2008, the door was suddenly wide open, and every top lifter had a shot for the title of “world’s strongest man.”

Most heavily favored is Latvia’s Viktors Scerbatihs, a 33-year-old lawmaker who finished second at Athens. Freshly crowned in last year’s World Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in-form Scerbatihs is considered the front-runner for gold.

Other leading medal contenders include Russian strongman Evgeny Chigishev and Qatar’s Jaber Saeed Salem, who finished second and third, respectively, at last year’s World Championships.

Germany’s Matthias Steiner, Russia’s Evgeny Chigishev and Ukraine’s Artem Udachyn are also liable to give Scerbatihs a run for his money.

Also worth mentioning is Maama Lolohea of Tonga, not because he is anywhere near claiming a medal, but because he is the oldest male weightlifter at the Beijing Olympic. Born on May 27, 1968, the 40-year-old Tongan is competing in his first Olympics.

Updated: 2008-08-19 02:41:34

Gold medalist Andrei Aramnau of Belarus (Photo credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 18) — Day nine of the Olympic Weightlifting competition was a perfect day for Andrei Aramnau of Belarus as he won the gold medal in the Men’s Weightlifting 105kg category on Monday with a record-breaking display at the Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium.

Aramnau, 20, did not miss a lift and he became the first lifter in this category to Snatch 200kg, a junior and senior world record. Marcin Dolega of Poland, who held the old record at 199kg, tried to reclaim it with his third attempt but failed with 201kg.

A second attempt Clean and Jerk of 230kg won the gold medal for Aramnau. He then claimed all the world records with his last attempt, 236kg for the Clean and Jerk mark and 436kg for the total.

“I have been preparing for a long time for this and there could not have been a different result,” said an ecstatic Aramnau. “This medal comprises all 20 years of my life. My first coach told me that I would become an Olympic champion at the age of 20, and that’s what happened.”

(L-R) Silver medalist Dmitriy Klokov of Russia, gold medalist Andrei Aramnau of Belarus and bronze medalist Dmitry Lapikov of Russia (Photo credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

A tight battle developed for the silver and bronze medals. Dolega’s 195kg Snatch had him just ahead of Russia’s Dmitriy Klokov on 193kg, Bakhyt Akhmetov of Kazahkstan on 190kg, Dmitry Lapikov of Russia also on 190kg and Athens 2004 Silver medalist Igor Razoronov of Ukraine a further 3kg behind on 187kg.

Dolega could not hold off his Russian rivals in the Clean and Jerk after his two failures at 228kg proved costly. His only success with 225kg gave him a total of 420kg.

Lapikov edged him out for the bronze on lighter bodyweight when he jerked 230kg for the same total and then Klokov passed them both with 230kg for a 423kg total and silver.

Akhmetov missed his try at 230kg, which would have given him bronze, and he eventually finished fifth.

Razoronov, a 38-year-old veteran tried for the bronze with 234kg. He cleaned this weight but the Jerk proved to be beyond him.

Updated: 2008-08-18 21:28:23

Andrei Aramnau (Photo credit: Yang Lei/Xinhua)

Andrei Aramnau of Belarus shattered three world records en route to the Men’s Weightlifting 105 kilogram weight category title on Monday, August 18.

He lifted 200kg in the Snatch followed by 236kg in the Clean and Jerk to get a total of 436kg.

The 2006 world champion Marcin Dolega of Poland, who also lifted 420kg, missed out on a medal due to a higher pre-competition weigh-in.

Andrei Aramnau (Photo credit: Yang Lei/Xinhua)
Marcin Dolega (Photo credit: Yang Lei/Xinhua)

Updated: 2008-08-18 21:07:51

Andrei Aramnau of Belarus (Photo credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 18) — Andrei Aramnau of Belarus shattered three world records en route to the Men’s Weightlifting 105 kilogram weight category title on Monday, August 18.

Russia’s twin towers Dmitriy Klokov and Dmitry Lapikov finished second and third, respectively.

The 20-year-old Aramnau lifted 200kg in the Snatch followed by 236kg in the Clean and Jerk to get a total of 436kg, 13kg ahead of runner-up Klokov, who had 193kg in the Snatch and 230kg in the Clean and Jerk. Klokov’s compatriot Lapikov took bronze at 420kg.

The 2006 world champion Marcin Dolega of Poland, who also lifted 420kg, missed out on a medal due to a higher pre-competition weigh-in.