China’s Li Fabin defended his Olympic The Olympic weightlifting champion won the under-61-kilogram title on Wednesday, while Hampton Morris became the first American to win a weightlifting medal at the Games in four decades.
After entering the competition as the heavy favorite, Li, 31, set a Games record in the snatch by lifting 143 kilograms (315 pounds) on his third and final attempt. That paved the way for gold for Li, who set Olympic bests in the snatch and overall in that category three years ago when he won in Tokyo.
Already with a big lead, Li lifted 167 kilograms (368 pounds) in the clean and jerk to seal the score with a score of 310.
Morris won the bronze medal, failing in a world record attempt in the clean and jerk, but finishing at 303. The last American medalists in men’s weightlifting were Mario Martinez and Guy Carlton at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
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Theerapong Silachai of Thailand won the silver medal.
Morris slipped on his first clean and jerk attempt. The 20-year-old slid the bar forward a few metres on his second attempt, which was successful at 172kg.
According to his Team USA bio, Morris is coached by his father and trains primarily in his home gym. The Marietta, Georgia, native holds 20 American records at the junior, junior and senior levels and has won two gold medals and a silver medal at the world championships.
“Weightlifting is the only thing I do,” Morris said before the Paris Games. “I still don’t have my driver’s license because I decided to spend all my free time training and doing side things to help me become a better weightlifter.”
Indonesian four-time Olympic medallist Eko Yuli Irawan, the oldest weightlifter in his category at 35, injured his right hip or leg on his final failed lift. He limped out of the gym with the help of an assistant after failing to complete a clean and jerk, preventing him from extending his lead as his country’s most decorated Olympian.
The 61kg category is one of only five categories at the Paris Games after a reclassification and reduction of seven divisions in Tokyo. The start of the first event was delayed by more than 20 minutes due to unspecified technical maintenance.
