Iranian powerhouse weightlifter Ali Davoudi got to celebrate his 20th birthday in the best possible way. After just joining the 2-0 club he casually hit a huge clean & jerk of 240 kilograms, or 529 pounds. We’re unsure of his exact weight, but Davoudi is a young heavyweight who already has a seriously impressive resume.
Davoudi has already won six international competitions, with three of which being senior competitions. At the 2018 World Championships and the 2019 Fajr Cup he snagged new junior world records with competition lifts of 197 kilograms and 231 kilograms respectively in the +109kg class.
Check out his junior world record performance at the Fajr Cup this year below. He clean & jerked 231kg in his opening attempt.
But from the looks of his most recent clean & jerk, which is 3kg over his competition best, it is just the beginning for this guy. Within the Iranian world of superheavyweights, Davoudi has a lot to work to do to find his way alongside his country’s best. But he’s well on his way up the ranks and may someday reach the heights of some Iranian greats like Hossein Rezazadeh, a two-time Olympic champion, four-time World Weightlifting champion, and five-time Asian champion. (His best ever clean & jerk was a 263.5kg/581lb lift that he made at the 2004 Olympics.)
Of course, there’s no shortage of impressive Iranian weightlifters to inspire him. Last year, weightlifter Sohrab Moradi broke three world records and swept gold at the IWF Weightlifting World Championships. Moradi took the platform in the -96kg weight class and made a 230kg/507lb clean & jerk, enough for first place and a world record. (He didn’t quite make his third attempt of 237kg.)
Although a little bit late, here’s a belated happy birthday to Davoudi! And if every year continues at the rate of his 19th and 20th birthdays, we can’t wait to see what 21 holds.
Feature image from @alidavoudi__ Instagram page.
