The 67-kilogram weightlifter Liu Weijian hit a 190-kilogram (419-pound) clean & jerk. The significance of the massive lift — other than the fact that Weijian is only 21 years of age — is that it is two kilograms over the current world record held by Pak Jong-Ju of North Korea. Jong-Ju scored his world record clean & jerk on Sept. 20, 2019, at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
According to a post made by user teamlu (the “account of Lu Xiaojun Brand”) on Reddit on Jan. 29, 2021, the lift took place at a “Jilin Provincial team internal testing event.” Check out Weijian’s unofficial world record clean & jerk — just shy of three times his bodyweight — in the video below from teamlu.
LIU Weijian (67kg) 190kg clean & jerk at Jilin Provincial team's internal test
byu/teamlu inweightlifting
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Before the IWF recognized the 10 new bodyweight categories in 2018, Weijian competed in the 69-kilogram class. Rather than moving up in weight to compete in the 73-kilogram class, he dropped two kilograms (4.4 pounds) to compete at 67 kilograms. For reference, the final world record clean & jerk recorded in the now-retired 69-kilogram class was a 198-kilogram (436.5-pound) lift by Liao Hui, also of China.
During the 2020 Chinese Nationals competition on Oct. 22, 2020, Weijian actually attempted to match Pak Jong-Ju’s world record 188-kilogram (414.5-pound) clean & jerk and failed. Check out his performance in the video below, courtesy of LUXIAOJUN’s YouTube channel. Here are the timestamps of Weijian’s two clean & jerk attempts:
- 35:30 — 177 kilograms (390 pounds)
- 40:15 — 188 kilograms (414.5 pounds)
His first lift was successful, but then Weijan missed his second attempt.
[Related: Shi Zhiyong Beats His Own World Record With 199 Kilogram Clean & Jerk]
2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
Weijian’s performance at this test event will likely garner him much more attention heading into the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the summer of 2021. As of right now, the athlete quota for the 2020 Olympic Games is 196 athletes across all divisions. (The International Olympic Committee announced that the quota will drop for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris to120 athletes total across all divisions. There will also only be five bodyweight categories each for the men’s and women’s divisions).
If Weijian can perform on the world stage the way he did in internal testing, the would-be 22-year-old could rewrite the record books.
Feature image from LUXIAOJUN’s YouTube Channel.
