The 2024 Olympics in Paris, France, have finally arrived. For the athletes competing in the Men’s +102KG weightlifting super-heavyweight division at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on August 10, it’s been a long and hard-fought battle — and more than a few unexpected moments.
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BarBend will update this page as the event progresses, including podium results and a play-by-play of the competition from start to finish. Stay tuned!
2024 Olympics Results: Men’s +102KG Weightlifting
Since winning his first Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Georgian weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze has presided over the super-heavyweight division of Men’s weightlifting with an impeccable and undefeated record.
Though Talakhadze, the all-time undisputed strongest weightlifter in history, had his Paris ticket booked from the beginning, several have emerged since 2021 to challenge his reign.
- Lasha Talakhadze (GEO): 474
- Gor Minasyan (BRN): 464
- Varazdat Lalayan (ARM): 463
- Ali Davoudi (IRI): 454
- Man Asaad (SYR): 445
- Mohamed Elsayed (EGY): 433
- Ali Rubaiawi (IRQ): 427
- Walid Bidani (ALG): 426
- Eishiro Murakami (JPN): 421
- David Liti (NZL): 413, Continental
- Kamil Kucera (CZE): 411, Reallocation
- Mart Seim (EST): 410, Reallocation
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2024 Olympics Results: Men’s +102KG Weightlifting
- Gold: Lasha Talakhadze (GEO) — 470 (215/255)
- Silver: Varazdat Lalayan (ARM) — 467 (215/252)
- Bronze: Gor Minasyan (BRN) — 461 (216/245)
Event Recap — Snatch
Kamil Kucera of the Czech Republic started the Men’s +102KG weightlifting event by snatching 100 kilograms. After Kucera retired, the bar mounted to 178 kilograms for New Zealand’s crowd favorite David Liti. Japan’s Eishiro “Tank” Murakami opened his account afterward at 180 but missed in front.
Estonia’s Mart Seim came out for 180 successfully, and then Murakami mirrored on his second attempt. Liti blew kisses to the crowd after securing 184 on his third attempt, ending his campaign in the snatch portion.
The bar bumped to 190 for the final attempt of Egypt’s Elsayed Abdelaziz, who missed and finished at 184; Algerian Walid Bidani withdrew moments after, reportedly injured. Syrian Man Asaad dominated his 191 opener; commentators called it “as easy as you could like.”
At 195, Iraqi Ali Rubaiawi missed his first appearance. The heaviest snatch of the 2024 Olympics thus far, 200 kilograms, was taken first by Ali Davoudi of Iran; a miss. Rubaiawi, 20, tried 200 afterward and was successful for a new Junior world record.
With the barrier broken, 200-plus snatches began being knocked down. Davoudi took 201 and then 205, then began the trio of prospective medalists who had each initially declared their intent to open at 210.
Reigning Olympic Champion and all-time world record holder Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia took the stage first, smoking 210 in signature fashion. Armenia’s Varazdat Lalayan followed, matching Talakhadze, though with more difficulty standing up the bar. Third was Bahrain’s Gor Minasyan, who nearly power snatched 210.
Talakhadze called 215 first, thus appeared first, and hit it first. Lalayan followed once again and kept pace with Talakhadze. Minasyan attempted to distinguish himself by calling 216 on his second attempt — and distinguish himself he did.
Each man had one attempt remaining. Lalayan was not afraid to strike first. He called 218 but missed it. Talakhadze, the first man in history to snatch 220 kilograms in competition, came out next — he missed. This left Minasyan with the last attempt. He missed, too, but led the pack by one kilogram at the halfway mark.
Event Recap — Clean & Jerk
Kucera started off the clean & jerks as well with 120 kilograms, as commentators speculated he was performing ceremoniously to close his career in the sport. He duped the crowd by appearing to untie his lifting shoes as a gesture of retirement after his second attempt but strode off the stage with a smirk.
The bar moved up to 200 for Murakami who reignited the audience, then it was straight to 220 for Seim. Murakami joined him with his second attempt. Egypt’s Abdelaziz joined them with an extra five kilograms at 225. Rubaiawi, hot off his Junior snatch record, put 230 on the board on his first clean & jerk.
Murakami bowed out to raucous applause after failing 230 on his final attempt. Liti followed with 231 and made it look much easier. Syria’s Asaad made light work of his opener as well at 235. Liti worked the crowd as he approached his final lift at the same weight, but failed to clean the bar, ending his Paris journey rather abruptly.
The field thinned; Seim failed 237 on his second and third attempts in what would’ve been his heaviest lift since 2017. Rubaiawi followed Seim and set another Junior world record Total by jerking 237. Asaad housed 241, temporarily moving into the lead. Davoudi followed with 242.
Of the top snatchers, leader Minasyan was seen first for 245 in the clean & jerk. Talakhadze came next and took a page out of Minasyan’s book, opening slightly higher at 247. Then, Layalan — he matched Talakhadze with 247.
Rubaiawi boldly threw himself back into the mix by jumping 10 kilos to join the others at 247, but couldn’t quite stand up the clean. Next came Lalayan at 252 for the lead, a make and a personal best Total.
Asaad emerged afterward for his final attempt at 253 but dropped his split jerk too early and received red lights. Minasyan followed and moved the bar up to 255. He missed the clean.
Talakhadze came out for the same weight on his second attempt as well, initially receiving one red light. He waved to the crowd while being helped offstage by an attendant. He was given the lift, so Minasyan came out to challenge, but he missed the clean again, bringing his Paris story to its end.
Lalayan called 256 for his final attempt in a bid to edge out Talakhadze by one kilogram. He very nearly missed the jerk. Talakhadze had implicitly secured the gold, but Davoudi appeared to move into medal position and steal the bronze from Minasyan.
He didn’t have it. Talakhadze left with gold, Lalayan trailed narrowly at silver, while Minasyan bagged bronze.
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2024 Olympics Weightlifting Schedule
Weightlifting events will be held at the 2024 Olympics from Aug. 7 to Aug. 11, 2024, in Paris, France. Catch all the action live by referring to the full schedule below. All times are in Eastern Standard Time and are subject to change:
Wednesday, August 7
- 9:00 AM: Men’s 61KG
- 1:30 PM: Women’s 49KG
Thursday, August 8
- 9:00 AM: Women’s 59KG
- 1:30 PM: Men’s 73KG
Friday, August 9
- 9:00 AM: Men’s 89KG
- 1:30 PM: Women’s 71KG
Saturday, August 10
- 5:30 AM: Men’s 102KG
- 10:00 AM: Women’s 81KG
- 2:30 PM: Men’s +102KG
Sunday, August 11
- 5:30 AM: Women’s +81KG
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Featured Image: @atiani_10 / Instagram
