Rim Jong-sim Wins 75kg Weightlifting Gold, Jenny Arthur Sets American Snatch Record

There were several lifters fighting for podium spots, but with just two lifts, one athlete had gold locked up in the 75kg category. Rim Jong-sim, the 2012 London Olympic Champion in the 69kg category, took her first snatch and clean & jerk attempts after all other lifters in the A session had finished.

The North Korean lifter made her first and third snatch attempts, along with her first two clean & jerks. She finished with a 274 kilogram total, 16 kilos above second place.

The final women’s podium in the 75kg weight class is below:

1. Rim Jong-sim
2. Darya Naumava
3. Lidia Valentin

Belarus’ Naumava looked incredibly strong overhead in the clean & jerk and secured silver on her third lift of that portion.

Valentin — the presumed 2012 Olympic Champion after all three London podium finishers retested positive for banned substances — finished with the bronze medal. It’s the Spanish lifter’s third Olympic Games.

Lifting in her first Olympics, the USA’s Jenny Arthur went 4 for 6 and set a new American snatch record in the 75kg class with 107kg. Arthur finished with a 242kg total, good for 6th place overall.

Featured image: @IWFnet on Instagram