Less than a month after his silver-medal performance at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships, 73-kilogram Rahmat Erwin Abdullah of Indonesia has set his latest world record. Abdullah, who competed at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 3, 2023, set a 201-kilogram (443.1-pound) world record clean & jerk.
Paired with a 158-kilogram snatch, Abdullah’s 359-kilogram weightlifting Total was enough to win the 73-kilogram division overall. Since 2021, 22-year-old Abdullah has made it to the podium at every International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) competition he’s attended. He’s showing no signs of letting his foot off the gas anytime soon as he exceeded his own previous clean & jerk world record by a single kilo in Hangzhou.
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Abdullah on the Rise
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Abdullah burst onto the scene when he made his signature move of winning an overall medal while competing out of the less competitive Group B session. In Tokyo, Abdullah won a bronze medal in the Men’s 73-kilogram division; that class has been helmed by China’s Shi Zhiyong since its inception in 2018.
However, Zhiyong hasn’t stepped onto the international platform since Tokyo. While he was initially considered a foregone conclusion to win another gold medal in Paris next year, doubts are beginning to swirl within the weightlifting community. Abdullah has habitually shown up to prominent weightlifting events and comfortably set new world records in multiple classes:
- 2022 World Weightlifting Championships: 200KG Clean & Jerk World Record (73KG)
- 2023 World Weightlifting Championships: 209KG Clean & Jerk World Record (81KG)
- 19th Asian Games: 201KG Clean & Jerk World Record (73KG)
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While Abdullah does lag behind Zhiyong in the snatch (Zhiyong currently holds the snatch world record at 169 kilograms), his Total is rapidly approaching Zhiyong’s world record of 364 kilograms. Only time will tell if Abdullah has what it takes to dethrone Zhiyong should the two face off on the platform in Paris. Abdullah has momentum on his side, but Zhiyong is undefeated internationally since 2012.
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