For those of you that do not yet know of the weightlifter Zacarias Bonnat of the Dominican Republic who competes in the -81kg weight class, then consider this your introduction to the man who could very well make a run for the podium at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games coming up in July.
Bonnat competed in the XXXIX Manuel Suárez in Memoriam International Tournament in Havana, Cuba this past week — a 2020 Olympic Games Silver Qualifier — where he pried open the Pan American record books and changed the record next to his own name. Bonnat hauled a monumental 206kg/454lb clean & jerk to set a new Pan American record, surpassing the previous record of 205kg/452lb that he had set just four months earlier at the 2019 Odesur Grand Prix in Lima, Peru.
Check out the new Pan American record of 206kg/454lb clean & jerk, courtesy of th Dominican Olympic Committee’s Instagram page:
Using that nice wide grip, Bonnat almost made this lift look routine.
For context as to where this lift ranks amongst the top clean & jerks in the -81kg class, the current world record is just one kilogram heavier: the 207kg/456lb clean & jerk by 2012 Olympic gold medalist Lu Xiaojun of China. He made it at the 2019 Weightlifting World Championship.
In case you missed your chance to see Bonnat’s 205kg/452lb clean & jerk from earlier this year, check it out below from International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) YouTube channel being compared to the two previous attempts he made at that Grand Prix:
Note: the 205kg record clean & jerk is the far right panel.
XXXIX Manuel Suárez in Memoriam International Tournament
Here were Bonnat’s stats from the XXXIX Manuel Suárez in Memoriam International Tournament:
- Snatch – 162kg/357lb
- Clean & Jerk – 206kg/454lb
- Total – 368kg/811lb
He will have to continue to build up his snatch if he is going to challenge for a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games this summer, but he has the time and clearly seems to have the talent to get there.
FAQs
Who is Zacarias Bonat?
Zacarias Bonat is an accomplished weightlifter representing the Dominican Republic.
Bonat has set the Pan American record clean & jerk twice in the -81kg weight class.
When did Zacarias Bonat set the clean & jerk record?
Zacarias Bonat set the Pan American clean & jerk record at Grand Prix Peru with a 205kg/452lb lift. He then set it again at the XXXIX Manuel Suárez in Memoriam International Tournament with a 256kg/454lb lift.
Feature image from Dominican Olympic Committee’s Instagram page: @colimdo