Before scrolling onto the video below, I want to share a bit of advice. When you watch the clip, don’t blink, if you do you’re going to miss the lift because that’s how fast it happens. Over the last two years, Chinese weightlifter Shi Zhiyong has continually made a strong case for being one the world’s top 69kg athletes.
A couple days ago, Mastrength on Instagram shared a video highlighting one of Zhiyong’s biggest snatches to date and it’s a huge 170kg. Granted, we’re not completely sure when this clip was filmed, so it could be older than its original posting date.
Legendary Chinese weightlifter Liao Hui currently holds the 69kg snatch world record at 166kg. But it’s worth noting that while we point out in the title that Zhiyong’s lift tops the current world record by 4kg; there have been new weight categories implemented for weightlifting, so that’s 4kg over the old weight class world records.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmgrMC6BocH/
In the Mastrength Instagram video’s description he writes, “Standard Chinese weightlifting technique requires the athlete to pull with a narrower stance than their catching stance. This allows athletes to slide the feet after extension, exert downward force, and catch faster. But occasionally some athletes will use the same stance through the entire #snatch or #cleanandjerk such as Shi Zhiyong (about 72kg BW) during this 170kg snatch.”
The last time we wrote on Zhiyong was in mid-April when he put on a commanding performance at the 2018 Chinese Weightlifting Nationals. At Nationals, Zhiyong hit a 163kg snatch and 197kg clean & jerk, and these two lifts earned him a 360kg total, which unofficially topped legendary Liao Hui’s 359kg total world record.
It’s always cool watching Zhiyong lift because his stance is much wider than what many are used to seeing for the snatch, and his foot movement is practically nonexistent. Hopefully we continue to see Zhiyong progress towards new numbers as he adjusts for the new weight classes.
Feature image from @mastrength Instagram page.
