Sa Wins 1st Korean Gold at Worlds in 18 Years

By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter

Lu Xioajun of China won the gold in the snatch and the overall in the men's 77kg division at the World Weightlifting championships in Goyang Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday while Korean Beijing Olympic gold medalist Sa Jae-hyouk grabbed a gold medal in the clean and jerk.

In the snatch, the young Chinese weightlifter set a new world record, lifting 174kgs to beat the previous record by 1kg. His overall score of 378kgs earned him a second gold.

Sa lifted 205kgs in his first attempt in the clean and jerk and it stood up as the best of the event.

While at the Olympics medals are only given to the top three in the overall, at the world championships medals are awarded for the best lifts in the snatch and the clean and jerk as well.

Sa finished fourth in the snatch and in the overall with 160 and 365 kilograms. The Korean's overall score was the same as third-ranked Su Dajin of China, but because Sa is 0.2kgs heavier than Su, he was edged off the podium.

Once Sa has cemented his victory in the clean and jerk, he attempted to set a new world record with a lift of 212kgs but failed on two attempts

On his final attempt, he came painfully close to succeeding but couldn't quite control the weight above his head. He stumbled a little and only one of the three judges - two are required - indicated that he had successfully completed the lift.

Tigran Marttrosyan of Armenia secured two silvers in the snatch (170kgs) and overall (370kgs).

China has been dominant in the event thus far, collecting 16 gold medals in 21 events in seven classes.

yc@koreatimes.co.kr