It’s a record that’s stood for nearly 18 years, but now, the heaviest-ever total in the 94kg weight category belongs to Iranian weightlifter Sohrab Moradi.
The weightlifter snatched 185kg and clean & jerked 228kg to eclipse Kakhi Kakhiashvili’s World Record total from 1999. Moradi’s lifts took place in Turkmenistan at the 2017 Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games. His final results on the day were three successful snatches (176, 181, and 185kg) and two successful clean & jerks (missing his opener at 220 and then making lifts at 220 and 228kg).
Kakhiashvili’s snatch record at 188kg and Szymon Kolecki’s clean & jerk record at 232kg still stand. At the 2012 London Olympic Games, Kazakhstan’s Ilya Ilyin broke both the clean & jerk (233kg) and total (418kg) records, but his results were later annulled due to positive doping retests of his competition samples.
Moradi, the 2016 Rio Olympic Gold medalist in the men’s 94kg category, has been flirting with the class’ World Records for some time, going heavier than the official IWF marks in training and national competition.
After easily securing gold in Rio, many weightlifting fans thought it would only be a matter of time before Mordai made a run at the World Records. Watch his historic performance below.
Moradi’s performance comes just a day after his 29th birthday. In addition to his Olympic gold medal, Moradi is also a two-time Asian Champion (2009 and 2012, both in the 85kg weight class).
Featured image: wlift84 on YouTube
