Paris 2024 weightlifting: All results, as Indonesia's Rizki Juniansyah claims gold in men’s 73kg weight class
Rizki Juniansyah of Indonesia won the men’s 73kg weight class in weightlifting in dominant fashion at the South Paris Arena on Thursday, 8 August, lifting 354kg to claim the gold medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
He made the most of a few mistakes from other medal hopefuls to win the competition by 8kg over silver medallist Weeraphon Wichuma of Thailand, who posted a total of 346kg.
"I am happy, proud and very emotional winning this, my first gold medal and creating history,” said Juniansyah. “Thank you to all the Indonesians for their support, to those who are watching at home.
"There are no words that can describe how I am feeling. You saw me crying because it's been such an emotional and beautiful experience, and I am already looking towards the future."
Juniansyah began the competition by lifting 155kg in the snatch portion of the event. His result left him 10kg behind Shi Zhiyong of the People’s Republic of China and 1kg behind Julio Mayora Pernia of Venezuela after the first phase of the competition.
However, disaster struck when both Shi and Mayora Pernia failed to register a vaild lift in the clean-and-jerk portion of the competition. This left three-time world champion and defending gold medallist Shi without a final total, removing him from medal consideration along with Mayora Pernia.
With both major rivals out of the competition, Juniansyah needed just one solid lift to win the gold medal. He completed his first lift at 191kg, then watched as other lifters tried to surpass him.
Gold medallist Rizki Juniansyah of Indonesia is flanked by silver medallist Weeraphon Wichuma of Thailand (left) and bronze medallist Bozhidar Dimitrov Andreev of Bulgaria (right) on the podium after the men's 73kg weightlifting competition at Olympic Games Paris 2024 on 8 August 2024 in Paris, France.
Only Türkiye’s Muhammed Ozbek and Thailand’s Wichuma could match him. Juniansyah remained safely ahead of both lifters, who posted lower weights in the snatch.
Wichuma then laid down the new benchmark, lifting 198kg to better his own junior world record of 195kg. His lift added pressure to Juniansyah’s second attempt, but the Indonesian performed an electrifying lift to increase his clean-and-jerk score to 199kg.
This was a new Olympic record for the men's 73kg clean-and-jerk, and more than enough to win the 21-year-old his first Olympic medal.
"I am young, but it should not mean a thing,” said Juniansyah. “And you also cannot put enough importance on training. Some people train very well but cannot perform on stage, while others are poor at training but able to shine when it counts.”
Wichuma certainly shined on the stage, finishing second behind Juniansyah.
"I was not expecting to receive a medal today, but the next time in Los Angeles,” said the surprised 19-year-old. “I am very proud of myself and very happy."
Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Dimitrov Andreev capitalized on the mistakes of Shi and Mayora Pernia to jump into the bronze-medal position after lifting 154kg in the snatch and 190kg in the clean-and-jerk for a final total of 344kg.
"I am pleased to fulfil the promise about improving from Tokyo to my relatives that are no longer with us,” said Andreev. "They include my father, one of my brothers, and the daughter of my first coach who I consider an older sister.”
It was a day of emotional highs for all three medallists, who accomplished the indescribable in different ways at Paris 2024.
Weightlifting: Men’s 73kg podium
Gold: Rizki Juniansyah, INA
Silver: Weeraphon Wichuma, THA
Bronze: Bozhidar Dimitrov Andreev, BUL
See all the results on Olympics.com.