The gold medal was engraved with Karlos Nasar’s name before the 2024 Olympics even began.
Just kidding; they don’t put the winners’ names on the medals. But Nasar had the gold spoken for, thanks to his seemingly untreatable addiction to setting world records.
Nasar won the 89-kilogram weightlifting event in Paris with, in part, a 180-kilogram (396.8-pound) snatch. During his prep for his first Olympics, Nasar performed even better.
Karlos Nasar: 185KG Unofficial World Record Snatch
In the weeks leading up to the 2024 Olympics, Nasar, already the category’s frontman and gold-medal favorite, pushed his strength to its limit. Perhaps the biggest highlight of his Paris prep was an unofficial snatch world record of 185 kilograms, or 407.8 pounds:
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The footage above was provided courtesy of @vintagelifts_ on Instagram. Nasar performed this snatch, which exceeds the existing record by three kilograms (as of Aug. 2024), without lifting straps.
Why didn’t Nasar hit this weight in Paris? To understand that, you need to grasp how weightlifting works in the first place.
Karlos Nasar & Unofficial World Records in Weightlifting, Explained
Nasar’s 185-kilogram snatch isn’t an official record because he did not lift the weight in a valid competition setting. Regardless, Nasar, 20, clearly has the strength.
He was also the only 89-kilo competitor in Paris to successfully lift all three of his snatch attempts at 173, 177, and 180 kilograms, which put him in a commanding position heading into the clean & jerk — his specialty.
- Weightlifting meets are chaotic, unpredictable environments.
- In the gym, an athlete like Nasar has control over the attempts they lift and how long they can rest between them.
- At a meet, the pace at which a competitor moves is partly determined by the choices of their adversaries.
- Weightlifters have a better chance of hitting their absolute peak in a training environment, where they’re comfortable and in control.
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The stakes are extra high at the Olympics, too: There are no individual medals awarded for performance of the snatch and clean & jerk. If an athlete “bombs out” during the snatch, they aren’t permitted to even perform in the second half.
- As such, Nasar likely opted to play things a bit safer in the first half of the event, even if he had the strength to beat Colombia’s snatch world record holder and silver medalist Yeison Lopez.
Nasar has looked unstoppable since his return from a grievous injury in 2023. A betting man would say there’s a good chance he’ll load his barbell with 185 kilograms sooner than late.
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Featured Image: @karlos_nasar_ / Instagram
