Weightlifting Day Ahead – Men’s 109kg category features on penultimate competition day in Tokyo

Armenian Simon Martirosyan, the silver medalist from Rio 2016 and reigning world champion, is the main favorite to win gold.

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Simon Martirosyan (IOC)
Simon Martirosyan (IOC)

Who’s on the mat

The men’s 109kg event.

What to look out for

Armenian Simon Martirosyan, the silver medalist from Rio 2016 and reigning world champion, is the main favorite to win gold. However, he faces a steep challenge from 21-year-old Akbar Djuraev of Uzbekistan, the reigning world silver medalist. Hristo Hristov of Bulgaria, Timur Nanaev of Russia and Ali Hashemi of Iran are also medal contenders.

Competition schedule (Japan Standard Time)

♦ 1:50pm: 109kg Group B

♦ 7:50pm: 109kg Group A

Story of the day

China had a good day on Monday with Wang Zhouyu winning in the women’s 87kg event, and Li Wenwen triumphing in the women’s +87kg. Pan American weightlifters did well across the two events, with the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and United States all winning medals. Meanwhile Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand, the first ever transgender Olympic weightlifter, crashed out early after three failed snatch attempts.

Medal count as of August 2nd

1. China: 7 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze

2. Ecuador: 1 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze

3. Chinese Taipei: 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze

4. Canada: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze

4. Philippines: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze

4. Qatar: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze

7. Venezuela: 0 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze

8. Indonesia: 0 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze

8. Italy: 0 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze

10. Dominican Republic: 0 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze

10. United States: 0 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze

12. Colombia: 0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze

12. Great Britain: 0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze

12. India: 0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze

12. Turkmenistan: 0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze

16. Kazakhstan: 0 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze

17. Georgia: 0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze

17. Japan: 0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze

17. Mexico: 0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze

Media Watch

♦ Ecuador’s Neisi Dajomes became the first woman from her country to ever win an Olympic medal, taking gold in the women’s 76kg.

♦ Silver medalist in that same event Kate Nye reveals how she overcame her battle with bipolar disorder and depression to make a rare United States Olympic podium in weightlifting.

♦ Announcing his retirement from the sport in a heartfelt interview, Greek weightlifter Theodoros Iakovidis talks about his struggles with a lack of funding, earning an outpouring of support from fellow athletes.

♦ For more news about the Tokyo 2020 weightlifting competition, visit the IWF’s new website.

Latest odds

Check the odds on men’s 109kg here.

Where to follow

International Weightlifting Federation: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube

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Compiled by ATR staff

This article is brought to you by the International Weightlifting Federation