The 2024 Olympics begin in less than two months. And as the commencement of the summer Games on Jul. 26 looms ever closer, we’re starting to wonder who will take home those precious gold medals in Paris.
On Monday, Jun. 10, two-time Olympic Champion Lasha Talakhadze (+109KG) posted a 320-kilogram, or 705.4-pound, back squat double to social media. It’s a mammoth squat from the king of the Men’s super-heavyweight division. But does it signal that Talakhadze has the strength to win his third straight Olympic title?
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We’re going to break down Talakhadze’s squat and then channel the spirit of Stephen A. Smith to determine if Talakhadze’s trajectory is pointed at the top of the podium or if he’ll suffer his first international defeat in over a decade at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Lasha Talakhadze Back Squat: 320KG for 2
The video in question was posted by Georgian sports physician Giorgi Asanidze, who documents most of Talakhadze’s weightlifting workouts. This isn’t the first time Talakhadze has squatted 320 kilograms or more — his last double at this weight hit the net on Jul. 5, 2023.
Talakhadze recruited the assistance of not one but two spotters. Not to assist him with getting the weight up, but to ensure Talakhadze’s weight plates remain on the sleeves of his barbell. The bar was packed to the ends — too full to even use barbell collars.
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Will Lasha Talakhadze Win the 2024 Olympics?
Since his triumph at the World Weightlifting Championships in 2015, Talakhadze has relentlessly dominated the Men’s super-heavyweight division. Glance at his resume on the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) directory and you might mistake it for El Dorado:
- Talakhadze has won every single weightlifting meet he’s competed in since 2015.
- He was the gold medalist at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
- Talakhadze is a seven-time European and World champion and holds all three Senior world records in the Men’s super-heavyweight division.
But his momentum has finally begun to slow. After a career-best performance at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships, where he posted a record 492-kilogram Total, the Georgian giant has failed to match or exceed that level of strength:
- Best Total in 2022: 466 kilograms
- Best Total in 2023: 474 kilograms
Talakhadze withdrew from the 2024 IWF World Cup in April — a strategic move to “focus on Paris,” but the decision indicated Talakhadze may still be struggling to find his footing and return to the level of readiness that made him the indisputable modern G.O.A.T. of men’s weightlifting.
Challengers Rise: Talakhadze will do battle with Armenia’s rising star Varazdat Lalayan in Paris, who set a personal record Total at the World Cup of 463 kilograms. There’s also Bahrain’s Gor Minasyan, whose competitive best in the Paris qualification period stands at 464.
So, does Talakhadze have what it takes to win a third Olympic gold medal? We think so, but only just. A common Olympic lifting rule of thumb is that an athlete’s best clean & jerk should roughly equal 80% of their back squat.
- 80% of 320 is 256 kilograms (bear in mind he hit it for two reps); that’s below Talakhadze’s world record clean & jerk of 267, but Talakhadze has not jerked more than 253 since 2021.
- Talakhadze has long been known for his speed and prowess in the snatch, historically opening well above every other athlete in his category. But a 220-kilogram snatch, while still his sole province, won’t guarantee Talakhadze remains in the driver’s seat in the second half of the event in Paris.
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A 320-kilogram squat double bodes well for Talakhadze’s strength ahead of what some fans suspect will be his final Olympic Games, but he’ll need to transfer that leg strength to a big clean & jerk in a competitive setting while fending off newly legitimized threats to his position from Lalayan and Minasyan.
Talakhadze will compete in the Men’s +102-kilogram Group A weightlifting event at the 2024 Olympics on Saturday, Aug. 10, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
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Featured Image: Jenny Marchese / @one_kilo_
