Title: Two-time Olympic champion represents the Chinese team in the 73kg competition
Shi Zhiyong wins the snatch title at the Weightlifting World Cup
Beijing Youth Daily reporter Song Xiang
On the evening of the 4th, the World Weightlifting World Cup ended in the men’s 73kg category in Phuket, Thailand. The Chinese weightlifting team only had two-time Olympic champion Shi Zhiyong participating in this level. His final results were 165kg in the snatch and 191kg in the clean and jerk, with a total score of 356 kg, including the snatch championship, and the overall result was runner-up. Shi Zhiyong’s overall score is not superior in this level of competition, but regardless of whether Shi Zhiyong can go to the Paris Olympics in the end, his persistence and efforts for the Olympic dream are worthy of everyone’s admiration.
After Shi Zhiyong successfully defended his title at the Tokyo Olympics, he participated in the Shaanxi National Games that year. After that, he did not compete on stage for more than a year. Although he also participated in the Olympic qualifying competitions in previous stops, he always finished the competition by weighing in but not competing on the stage. Suffering from back and waist injuries, Shi Zhiyong has been struggling with injuries over the past few years and has spent a lot of time and energy on injury recovery.
At the end of December last year, Shi Zhiyong returned to the competition for the first time and competed in the Qatar Grand Prix. At that time, he finished second in the overall score. This result boosted his confidence to a certain extent. This World Cup is Shi Zhiyong’s last effort for his Olympic dream. In the men’s 73kg category, Shi Zhiyong’s overall score was not the best. The Indonesian duo Abdullah and Juniancia brought a very strong challenge. In this World Cup, Shi Zhiyong succeeded in two of the three snatches. In the third attempt, he successfully lifted 165 kilograms, defeating Juniancia and winning the snatch championship. But after entering the clean and jerk competition, Shi Zhiyong and Juniancia were at a disadvantage. After successfully lifting 191 kilograms in the first attempt, he failed to lift 195 kilograms and 196 kilograms in the second and third attempts, respectively, placing him second with an overall score of 356 kilograms. The overall championship was won by Juniancia, with a score of 365 kg.
Although the Chinese weightlifting team has not yet determined the level of competition for the Paris Olympics, judging from Shi Zhiyong’s current level and status and the strength of his opponents, the Chinese team does not have the absolute strength to win gold at this level. But in any case, Shi Zhiyong is still the iconic figure of the Chinese weightlifting team at this level.