Vadim Streltsov of Belarus becomes world champion in weightlifting
The competition in Houston wasn’t easy for the athletes from the Mogilev Region. After the first exercise — the snatch — Streltsov managed to lift 175kg, ranking sixth. However, even before his departure to the World Championship, Vadim had underlined that he was focused on the clean and jerk. He wasn’t mistaken. Having lifted 230kg, Vadim took gold in this nomination, and the champion’s title.
Belarusian Alexander Venskel lifted 178kg in the snatch, placing him close to the leaders before the second exercise. Having lifted 220kg in the clean and jerk, he attempted 230kg, in a bid for gold, but failed, leaving him fourth, with a total of 398kg.
Vadim Streltsov on medals podium
The leaders of the Belarusian national women’s team, Dina Sazanovets and Marina Shkermankova, failed to live up to their coaches’ hopes in the under 69kg category, with Sazanovets finishing seventh (lifting 244kg) and Olympiad bronze medallist Shkermankova placed ninth. Chinese Xiang Yanmei, having lifted 263kg across two events, took gold.
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The national weightlifting team of Belarus has received the maximum number of Rio 2016 Olympic tickets following the 2015 IWF World Weightlifting Championship, which finished in American Houston: six men and four women. Following the results of the 2014 and 2015 world championships, the Belarusian men’s team is ranked fifth globally, while our women’s squad is among the top ten (placed eighth). In the overall standings of the 2015 IWF World Weightlifting Championship, Belarus was ranked eighth, thanks to Vadim Streltsov’s gold (sum of two events in the under 94kg category).
By Igor Leshin
