Iran's First Gold Medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in Vancouver

Mohammad Ali Flahati Nejad, the Iranian weightlifter in the 77 kg category, won the gold medal in the 73rd World Weightlifting Championships. According to IRNA news agency, the competition took place on Wednesday morning at the Canada Plus Stadium in Vancouver, Canada, where Flahati Nejad achieved a total lift of 357.5 kg, earning two gold medals in the clean and jerk and overall categories for the Iranian national weightlifting team. The Tehran-based weightlifter placed eighth in the snatch event with a lift of 155 kg. Flahati Nejad made up for his earlier setback in the clean and jerk by lifting 202.5 kg and securing a total of 357.5 kg, thus claiming the two gold medals. After securing his gold medal, he attempted to break the world record in the clean and jerk for his category, held by Perpichov from Russia, by lifting 210.5 kg but was unsuccessful. Another Iranian weightlifter, Mohammad Hossein Barkhah, suffered an injury during his snatch attempt at 165 kg and withdrew from the competition. At the end of the weight class competition, Georgy Davtyan from Armenia placed second with a total of 355 kg (160 kg plus 195 kg) due to a lighter body weight compared to Reihan Arabasioglu from Turkey, who finished third. The competition featured 38 weightlifters.