Chinese weightlifter Tian Tao was the talk of the town at READY STEADY TOKYO Test Event this past weekend. Tao put on a killer performance and set a new world record for the clean & jerk in the -96kg weight class with a strong 231kg / 509 lb third attempt. This lift tops the previous World Record of 230kg, which was held by Iran’s Sohrab Moradi.
Check out Tao’s monstrous world record shattering lift from the IWF’s Instagram page below.
On the day, Tao ended up going 4-for-6 and finished with a 406kg total. This 406kg total is only 1kg shy of his heaviest ever total recorded in formal competition (he hit 407kg at the 2018 IWF World Championships).
In the snatch, Tao went 2-for-3. He completed a successful 170kg opener and a 175kg second attempt, but unfortunately missed his 180kg third attempt. On the clean & jerk, Tao also ended up going 2-for-3 on the day. He completed an easy 210kg opening attempt, but missed his 220kg second before loading the bar with 231kg for his world record attempt.
READY STEADY TOKYO served as a a test run for multiple countries and athletes ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games, and also served as a Silver-level qualifying event. It ran from July 6th through July 7th in the Tokyo International Forum.
Tao’s latest results are an awesome suggestion of what we can hopefully expect from him in the upcoming year. Since moving up to the -96kg weight class, Tao has slowly been gaining his stride on the platform. At the 2018 IWF World Championships, Tao took home second place behind Moradi with his previously mentioned 407kg total. Before jumping up a c lass though, at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games Tao put on an impressive performance as an 85 kg athlete, earning a silver medal with a snatch of 178 kg and a clean & jerk of 217 kg.
All eyes will be on Tao as he continues through the qualification period for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Hopefully he can stay injury free and continue to push the -96kg weight class to new heights.
Featured image from @iwfnet Instagram page.