At the 2024 Olympics, Team China did what they do best — win. The world’s most dominant weightlifting team of the 21st century bagged five out of six possible gold medals over the course of 10 events at the tail end of Paris 2024.
- No other nation won more than a single weightlifting gold at the summer Games this year.
Team China’s weightlifting industry has produced more gold medals than any other country at every Olympics event since 1996, a streak extended by their podium toppers in Paris.
Meanwhile, a risky gamble on one of their former champions blemished what would have been a top-to-bottom sweep, and China is less likely to enjoy such lavishness at the next Olympics in 2028.
Team China 2024 Olympics: Weightlifting Medals
China was the only nation to field a full six-athlete weightlifting roster in Paris 2024 as other nations struggled to produce athletes that could succeed in the pressure cooker that was the 18-month qualification period.
Their Paris team consisted of four prior Olympians and two newcomers who proved to be just as ferocious as their more tenured colleagues:
- Li Fabin: Men’s 61KG, Gold
- Hou Zhihui: Women’s 49KG, Gold
- Luo Shifang: Women’s 59KG, Gold
- Liu Huanhua: Men’s 102KG, Gold
- Li Wenwen: Women’s +81KG, Gold
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Of their five medalists, Li Fabin, Hou, and Li Wenwen all made their Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 (and won golds there as well), while Luo and Liu were Games first-timers.
What Happened To Shi Zhiyong?
The lone Team China weightlifter to miss out on the Olympic podium in Paris lifted in the Men’s 73KG event. Shi Zhiyong, Team China’s two-time (2016, 2020) Olympic Champion and snatch world record holder, bombed out during the clean & jerks.
Shi blew a 10-kilogram lead in the snatches (165 to runner-up Rizki Juniansyah’s 155) and missed all three of his clean & jerk attempts at 191 kilograms. He has long battled a series of debilitating injuries, but clinched a Paris ticket thanks to a glimpse of brilliance at the last-chance qualifier competition in April.
- “My lower back injury is severe,” Shi told Chinese media shortly after the 73KG event in Paris. “Everyone trusts me and has provided the best support, but I couldn’t contribute. I feel like I’ve failed.”
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On Aug. 11 after Shi’s teammate Wenwen closed the weightlifting events with a gold medal in the Women’s super-heavy event, he shared an honorary photo in which his teammates adorned him with their five gold medals.
- “I didn’t win a medal, but they gave me five,” he said.
Shi has not formally announced his retirement as of this article’s publication, but spoke on social media about his desire to spend more time with his family and allow his body to heal after a long career at the top of one of weightlifting’s most competitive divisions.
Team China 2028 Olympics: Will They Dominate Again?
Team China has enjoyed a mostly unchallenged tenure as captains of industry in weightlifting at the regional, World, and Olympic levels for over a decade, particularly throughout the last two Games cycles.
While weightlifting was recently confirmed for the summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028, China may, for the first time, find itself on the precipice of forfeiting its title as weightlifting’s winningest country.
North Korea (DPRK) returned to the international weightlifting scene in 2023 after a four-year hiatus. They dominated a handful of international meets, but because they started too late in the qualification period, the Democratic People’s Republic fielded no weightlifters in Paris.
- In the year-ish since their comeback, Team DPRK stole many existing world records from China.
- As of August 2024, North Korea holds 16 Senior world records in weightlifting (only three of which were set by their men), while China boasts a hearty 22.
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Chinese weightlifting coaches have expressed admiration for Team DPRK’s potency in weightlifting, particularly among their women athletes. North Korea’s 49-kilogram triple world record holder Ri Song Gum is the strongest women’s weightlifter in the world when measured by Sinclair coefficient, which attempts to equalize athletes across different body weights.
More Weightlifting From the 2024 Olympics
- Maude Charron Chugged Maple Syrup to Win Silver Medal at 2024 Olympics
- Karlos Nasar Claims World Records, Gold Medal in Paris
- Is Mihaela Cambei Weightlifting’s Next Superstar?
Featured Image: Yilin Yang / @squat_jerk_journalist
