• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The BarBend Logo in white.

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • HYROX
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini Massage Guns
      • Individual Recovery Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainers
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
        • Best Fat Burners for Men
        • Best Fat Burners for Women
        • Best Non-Stim Fat Burners
      • More Supplements
        • Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
        • Best Supplements for CrossFit
        • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
        • Best Supplements for Bodybuilding
        • Best Supplements for Men
        • Best Supplement Stacks
      • Individual Supplements Reviews
    • Equipment
      • Cardio
        • Best Treadmills
        • Best Rowing Machines
        • Best Exercise Bikes
        • Best Ellipticals
        • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Strength
        • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
        • Best Dumbbells
        • Best Kettlebells
        • Best Barbells
        • Best Squat Racks
        • Best Free Weights
        • Best Weight Benches
        • Best Resistance Bands
        • Best Slam Balls
        • Best Weighted Vests
        • Best Leg Extension Machines
        • Best Cable Machines
        • Best Power Racks
        • Best Pull Up Bars
      • Best Home Gyms
        • Best Smart Home Gyms
        • Best Gym Equipment Under $100
        • Best Home Gym Essentials
        • Best Home Gym Flooring
      • Individual Equipment Reviews
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Apparel
        • Best Weightlifting Shoes
        • Best Cross Training Shoes
        • Best Gym Bags
        • Best Gym Shorts
      • Training
        • Best Weightlifting Belts
        • Best Knee Sleeves
        • Best Lifting Straps
        • Best Grip Strengtheners
        • Best Wrist Wraps
        • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Individual Fitness Product Reviews
    • Certifications
      • Best Sports Nutrition Certifications
      • Best Personal Trainer Certifications
      • Best Nutrition Certifications
      • Individual Certifications Reviews
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
      • Individual Program Reviews
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Nutrition Tips
      • Daily Protein Needs
      • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
      • Foods With Creatine
      • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
  • Community Forum
Home » Weightlifting News » Vote for the 2019 IWF World Weightlifting Lifter of the Year

Vote for the 2019 IWF World Weightlifting Lifter of the Year

The nominees are in and voting is open to decide the male and female weightlifter of the year!

Phil Blechman
Written by Phil Blechman
Last updated on April 30th, 2025

Award season is upon us! The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has released the nominees for both male and female weightlifter of the year. The winners will each receive the IWF Jenő Boskovics Lifter of the Year Trophy for 2019.

IWF Lifter of the Year Trophy
Image via iwf.net

Here is the list of nominees from the IWF open voting announcement:

MEN

Om Yun-chol (PRK, -55kg)

Shi Zhiyong (CHN, -73kg)

Lu Xiaojun (CHN, -81kg)

Simon Martirosyan (ARM, -109kg)

Lasha Talakhadze (GEO, +109kg)

WOMEN

Kuo Hsing-chun (TPE), -59kg)

Deng Wei (CHN, -64kg)

Katherine Elizabeth Nye (USA, -71kg)

Rim Jong-sim (PRK, -76kg)

Leydi Yesenia Solís Arboleda (COL, -81kg)

Men’s Category

Om Yun-chol (PRK, -55kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn8GBdbhymj/

Om Yun-chol of North Korea is an Olympic gold medalist from the 2012 Olympic Games in the -56kg weight class. In 2019, he won gold at the World Weightlifting Championships in the -55kg class and set the current world records for the clean & jerk (166kg/366lbs) and total (294kg/648lbs).

Shi Zhiyong (CHN, -73kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2246GdnKwL/

Shi Zhiyong of China is the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in -69kg class. He is a 3-time World Weightlifting Champion and 3-time Asian Weightlifting Champion. He won both events in 2019 in the -73kg class.. He holds the current world records for the snatch (168kg/370lbs) and total (363kg/800lbs)

Lu Xiaojun (CHN, -81kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp0JNYKH7CY/

Lu Xiaojun of China won Olympic gold at the 2012 Olympic Games and silver at the 2016 Olympic Games. Rahimov took gold for having the lower body weight. (The bodyweight tiebreaker has since been eliminated from weightlifting competition.)

In 2019, Xiaojun won the World Weightlifting Championships in the -81 kg class and set current world records for the clean & jerk (207kg/456lbs) and total (378kg/833lbs).

Simon Martirosyan (ARM, -109kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHa9GaxDf09/

Simon Martirosyan of Armenia is a 2-time and current World Weightlifting Champion and European Weightlifting Champion in the -109kg class. 2019 saw him set the current world record for the snatch (199kg/438lbs). Martirosyan also holds the current world records for the clean & jerk (230kg/507lbs) and total (435kg/959lbs).

Lasha Talakhadze (GEO, +109kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2nmBRPlgAC/

Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia is the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the +105kg class. He is the reigning 4-time European Weightlifting Champion: 3-time gold winner in the +105kg class, 2019 champion in the +109kg class. He has won the World Weightlifting Championships four times, including 2019, twice in the +105kg classs (2016 and 2017) and twice in the +109kg class (2018, 2019.

His 2019 resume also boasts a win at the International Naim Suleymanoglu Tournament.

Women’s Category

Kuo Hsing-chun (TPE, -59kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvLUwRtA_FK/

Kuo Hsing-chun of Taiwan is the 3-time and current World Weightlifting Champion in the -59kg class as well as the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Champion. In 2019, she set world records for the snatch, clean & jerk, and total at the Asian Weightlifting Championships. She holds the current world records for the clean & jerk (140kg/308lbs) and total (246kg/542lbs) which she set at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships.

Deng Wei (CHN, -64kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhhAaqgh0le/

Deng Wei of China is the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the -63kg class. She won the World Weightlifting Championships in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019; the year she set the current world records for the snatch (116kg/255lbs), the clean & jerk (145kg/319lbs), and total (261kg/575lbs) in the -64kg class.

2019 also saw Deng win the Asian Weightlifting Championships and the IWF World Cup. She set world records in both lifts and total in both events.

Katherine Elizabeth Nye (USA, -71kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B64fRe9gjuR/

2019 was a breakout year for Katherine Nye of the United States. She won both the World Weightlifting Championships and the Pan American Weightlifting Championships in the -71kg class. She also took gold at the 2019 Junior World Weightlifting Championships.

Nye took the gold in both the snatch and clean & jerk across all the events she won in 2019.

Nye also clinched the bronze at the Pan American Games.

Rim Jong-sim (PRK, -76kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/-nC0-tEbdR/

Rim Jong-sim of North Korea is a 2-time Olympic gold medalist having won in 2012 in the -69kg class and in 2016 in the -75kg class. In 2019 she won both the World Weightlifting Championships and the Asian Weightlifting Championships in the -76kg class.

2019 was the year she set the current world records in both the snatch (124kg/273lbs) and total (278kg/613lbs).

Leydi Yesenia Solís Arboleda (COL, -81kg)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgl98zqllxq/

Leydi Yesenia Solís Arboleda of Colombia is the 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the -69kg class. She has won the Pan American Games twice, once each in the -61kg class -69kg class. Solís won the Pan American Championships three times all in the -69kg class. And she the World Weightlifting Championships twice; 2017 in the -69kg class and 2019 in the -81kg class.

Solís also won Grand Prix Lima in 2019 with a 251kg/533lbs total.

How to Vote

IWF shared on their site how to submit your vote for Best Male and Best Female 2019 Lifter of the Year. The procedure to submit your ballot is as follows:

  • Select 1 (one) Male nominee and 1 (one) Woman nominee.
  • You must give the following information along with your ballot submission:
    • Name
    • Country
    • E-mail address

Be sure to input your information properly as any ballot that fails to meet the submission requirements will not be counted.

The submission deadline is February 10, 2020.

Featured image from the Instagram pages of Katherine Nye:@katherineenye, Kuo Hsing-chun: @kuohsingchun_official, Lasha Talakhadze: @talakhadzelasha_official, and Shi Zhiyong: @shi_zhi_yong.

Phil Blechman

About Phil Blechman

Phil is a native New Yorker passionate about storytelling, bodybuilding, and game design. He holds a BFA from Syracuse University.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Latest Reviews

EveryPlate Review

EveryPlate Review (2025): A Tasty, Budget-Friendly Meal Kit, Tested By Our Experts

ARMRA Colostrum Review

ARMRA Colostrum Review (2025): A Certified Nutrition Coach’s Critique of this Trending Supplement

Sun Home Luminar Review

Sun Home Luminar Review (2025): Our Experts Sweat It Out With This High-Quality Outdoor Sauna

Cover image for CookUnity review of a filled reusable box of 6 CookUnity meals

CookUnity Review (2025): An Expert-Tested and Flexible Prepared Meal Service

Transparent Labs Prebiotic Greens Review

Transparent Labs Prebiotic Greens Review (2025): Our Experts Examine This Nutrient-Filled Profile

BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2025 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap