Iran's Yousefi claims gold after setting world record at Asian Weightlifting Championships
Iran's Alireza Yousefi capped the Asian Weightlifting Championships with a clean and jerk gold medal and a new world record in the super heavyweight category on Sunday.
The youth Olympic champion lifted 261kg on his third attempt in Gandhinagar, India, becoming the first world record holder in the clean and jerk for the newly established +110kg weight class.
After securing bronze in the snatch with lifts of 177kg and 184kg, he opened the clean and jerk with 248kg to guarantee gold in that discipline and overall silver.
His second attempt at 261kg failed, but the 19-year-old succeeded on his final lift to erase the previous mark and etch his name in the record books.
The achievement comes after a challenging period for Yousefi, who had been sidelined with injury following the 2024 World Championships. There, he lifted 262kg to establish himself as a major force in the division.
After his record-breaking performance, Yousefi unveiled a shirt commemorating victims of a US airstrike on the Shajare Tayyebeh school in Minab, where 168 students, teachers and parents were massacred on the first day of US-Israeli imposed war on Iran on February 28.
Iran’s rising star Alireza Nasiri won the clean and jerk gold medal in the 110kg category at the Asian Weightlifting Championships. pic.twitter.com/cn8o8l9p38
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) May 17, 2026
Bahrain's Gor Minasyan won the overall title with a 446kg total, while South Korea's Song Young-hwan took bronze.
The super heavyweight class has undergone significant changes over two decades. Iran's Hossein Rezazadeh held the clean and jerk record at 263kg in the former +105kg category, while Georgia's Lasha Talakhadze dominated the +109kg division with 267kg. Yousefi now inaugurates the record book for the current +110kg class.
The continental championships, hosted in India for the first time since 1982, featured 172 athletes from 28 nations. Iran's Alireza Nasiri won clean and jerk gold in the 110kg category earlier in the competition.
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