At just 24 years old, Georgian superheavyweight weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze has built an incredible resume in the sport. He’s the reigning Olympic, World, and European Champion in his weight class, and he’s a multi-time World Record holder in the snatch (his current World Record standing at a mind-boggling 217kg, the heaviest snatch ever made in international competition).
But this weekend at Georgian Nationals, Talakhadze has outdone himself once again, snatching 220kg for a competition PR. Watch the incredible lift below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbG7JfqDVld
Reports from the competition also indicate Talakhadze clean & jerked 254kg to bring his total to 474kg, also an unofficial World Record.
The lift won’t count as an official World Record because it wasn’t done in international competition. This is why some National Records across the globe are actually heavier than the World Records, a situation we’ve seen multiple times in recent iterations of Chinese National competitions. However, with the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships less than a month away, we’re excited to see if Talakhadze makes a run at his own record on the platform in Anaheim.
Talakhadze also owns the Total World record at 473kg, which he set on his way to winning Gold in Rio. As far as we know, Talakhadze’s competition best clean & jerk is 258kg, which stands 5kg below the 263kg mark set by Iran’s Hossein Rezazadeh in 2004.
At 220kg, the above lift is the heaviest competition snatch we’ve ever seen or heard of. Previously, the only 220kg snatch (from the floor, not from the blocks) we’d seen was one from Iranian superheavyweight (and former snatch World Record holder) Behdad Salimi. Salimi — himself an Olympic and World Champion — is perhaps Talakhadze’s fiercest competitor and main rival on the current international stage.
Iran’s Saeid Alihosseini — who is coming off a recent doping suspension and plans to compete at the World Championships this year — has also been making waves with large lifts in training and national competition.
The men’s superheavyweight weight category is one of the most exciting in international weightlifting, and we’re looking forward to witnessing some great battles in Anaheim!
Featured image: @rezi.davitadze on Instagram
Correction: This article originally stated Saeid Alihosseini would be eligible to compete in international competition starting in 2018. As of October 24th, 2017, he is eligible to compete. The article has been update to reflect this.
