Petr Asayonok of Belarus began his professional weightlifting career in 2010 at the age of of 17 in the -69kg class when he placed second at a Youth Olympic Qualifying Event. He has since competed in the -77kg class and -81kg class (where he competes currently). He is a member of Team Belarus and won the Belarus Weightlifting Championships the last five years in a row.
In 2019 he finished in second place at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) European Championships and the XII Mediterranean Cup. In addition, he took home the bronze medal at the Alexander Cup. Back in 2016, he competed at the Rio Olympic Games and missed the podium by two ranks with a fifth place finish secured by a 377kg total.
Although the now 27-year-old has not quite achieved a gold medal on the world stage, he has proven his ability to snatch with the world’s best. Yesterday on his Instagram page, he shared a post of him snatching 180kg/397lb — a full 7kg/15.4lb over the current IWF world record held by Egypt’s Mohammed Ihab from the 2018 IWF World Championships in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Check out the Asayonok’s unofficial world record snatch below:
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Although his teammates rendered a reaction fitting for an unofficial world record lift, Asayonok did not disclose his bodyweight in his post.
Since his appearance at the 2019 IWF World Championships, where he admittedly had the “worst start” in his “entire career”, Asayonok has since been putting in the work needed to potentially end his streak of second and third place finishes against the best in the world.
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His 180kg/397lb snatch is over twice his competition bodyweight. With the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games delayed until the summer of 2021, Asayonok will have to wait a bit longer to improve upon his Rio Olympic Games finish. If he is able to improve even further in the gym between now and then, he will certainly be a contender for gold.
Featured image from Petr Asayonok’s Instagram page: petr_asayonok
