Andrew Charniga
56 kg Class Om Yun – chol (PRK) 287; Thach Kim Tuan (VIE) 280; Surahmat Wijoyo (INA) 272
OM (PRK) started with 127; a very explosive, hop forward, fast lift. Thach Kim Tuan (VIE) pulled 128 alright but lost his balance in the low squat. His repeat with the same weight; very easy without a pause in the low squat. OM (PRK) attempts to contort himself under the next two looked as if he would surely blow something out. He escaped with just misses. Thach Kim Tuan (VIE) did a pull and sit with 132; not even close to a good lift.
Thach Kim Tuan (VIE) was clearly not in good form with only one good snatch he collapsed under his 2nd jerk with 160 and failed to even shoulder 161.
The clean with 160 was not particularly easy but the jerk was extremely fast and powerful for the 1st attempt of Om Yun – chol (PRK). Instead of taking a modest jump to get closer to the WR he opted for 12 kg; over 20% of bodyweight on his second. He could even shoulder it. However, the third was a hard clean with the bar slipping off his clavicles slightly. Nevertheless, he made another powerful jerk with a fast wide split; but he could not fully recover from the split as the barbell dropped forward.
Om Yun – chol (PRK) had this 172 kg jerk locked out easily but could not control it. Charniga photo.
This would have been the only legacy (in place at the end of 1988) C+J record to fall after more than 30 years (set by Terziiski (BUL) in 1987). Considering the current state of testing; it was an extraordinary feat of power and skill. The most extraordinary aspect of this attempt was OM’s ability to perform a fast and explosive jerk after a difficult clean; the jerk being the weak link and the most difficult skill in weightlifting to execute with 305% of bodyweight.
62 kg class
Eko Yuli Irawan (INA) 311; Trinh Van Vinh (VIE) 299; Adkhamjon Ergashev (UZB) 298
You knew this class was a big deal when the president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo walked in with several bodyguards. The local hero Eko Yuli Irawan (INA) was entered in this class. The 62 kg class had originally been excluded but for obvious reasons (a sure gold medal for Indonesia) it was added to the program and even stretched the competition out an extra day.
Eko Yuli Irawan (INA) won going away in this class with his president in attendance. Charniga photo
Eko Yuli Irawan (INA) opened with 137 after everyone had finished so the fight was for the silver and bronze in this class. Adkhamjon Ergashev (UZB) got the silver in the snatch sitting extremely low with 136. Trinh Van Vinh (VIE) pulled too long and dropped the same weight behind. Eko Yuli Irawan (INA) hopped back for very easy smooth lift with 137. His 2nd with 141 was a repeat of his first followed by a ceremonious bow one sees when a big fish is swimming in a small pond. The third attempt was pulled too long as he dropped too slow. This time just a little bow.
Eko Yuli Irawan (INA) was back with the big bow after his 1st with 165 secured the win. He jerked the weight forward being lucky to save it. Adkhamjon Ergashev (UZB) made two good attempts before his bent back leg split technique would not allow him to fix 165 which would have got him the silver medal. Trinh Van Vinh (VIE) stood interminably long adjusting his grip wider with is second at 166 then split very wide and very fast to move into 2nd place. Sin Chol – bom (PRK) needed two attempts to squat jerk 168. Eko Yuli Irawan (INA) once again jerking shallow and slightly forward made 170 on his 2nd. However, the shallow forward jerk would not go for his 3rd at 175.
69 kg class O Kang-chol (PRK) 336; Doston Yokubov (UZB) 331; Izzat Artykov (KYG) 330
Tairat Bunsuk (THA) cleans 178. Charniga photo
77 kg class Choe Jon – wi (PRK) 348; Kim Woo-jae (KOR) 347; Chatuphum Chinnawong (THA) 341
The two Koreas competed for the gold in this class. Both Choe Jon – wi (PRK) and Kim Woo-jae (KOR) opened with hop forward lifts at 155. Choe Jon – wi (PRK) swung 160 forward and could not hop under it. Kim Woo-jae (KOR) sat for a few seconds struggling to control 160 for a good lift. Choe Jon – wi (PRK) lost his grip with his 3rd at 160; while Kim Woo-jae (KOR) could not fix a forward 162.
Some sort of virus struck the guys in this class when it came to jerking the barbell from the chest. There were misses after misses after misses. Weights of 180 (234%) – 187 (243%) require a level of skill that merely squatting big weights cannot not address. Beginning with this 180, there two bomb outs in the jerk and a total of 15 missed lifts.
Choe Jon – wi (PRK) snatches 155. Charniga photo
Choe Jon – wi (PRK) opened with a missed clean at 185. He cleaned this weight well on his second; making a solid jerk. Kim Woo-jae (KOR) cleaned 187 Ok but was turned down for press out in the jerk. He was turned down again in the jerk for the same 187. He finally managed to keep his arms locked and stabilize the weight his third with 187. Choe Jon – wi (PRK) sat for a few seconds with 193 then stood easily to jerk 193; which made up the 5 kg deficit in the snatch to move into first place.
85 kg class Safaa Rashed al – Jumaili (IRQ) 361; Jang Yeon – hak (KOR) 360; Jon Myong – song (PRK) 348
Ali Makvandi (IRI) made three uncoordinated attempts at 153 in the snatch to become the second member of the Iranian team to zero. Safaa Rashed al – Jumaili (IRQ) hopped back and sat very low with 155 1st. Jon Myong – song (PRK) hopped back and sat shaking to control his first with 158; repeating with the same 158; both were turned down. He finally managed to keep his elbows locked with his 3rd attempt at 158. Safaa Rashed al – Jumaili (IRQ) repeated his 1st with his second at 159. Tall with long arms, Jang Yeon – hak (KOR) struggled for balance in the low squat with 160 before standing for a good lift.
Safaa Rashed al – Jumaili (IRQ) tried to sit low and fix his 3rd with 162 but was unable to stop pulling to let his arms lock. Jang Yeon – hak (KOR) hopped back with 163 and stood up without pausing in the low squat. Jang Yeon – hak (KOR) had to sit briefly after hopping back and struggling to balance 165 before recovering for his third good lift.
Chatuphum Chinnawong (THA). Charniga photo
Jon Myong – song (PRK) needed a step forward to stand with 190 before splitting fast and wide in the jerk. Jang Yeon – hak (KOR) had to bounce several times before standing with 191. He jerked fast with a wide split. Troubles jerking the barbell started at 231% (197); lower than the previous class but as expected with the rise in bodyweight. In the lead by 6 kg over the Iraqi Jang Yeon – hak (KOR) played it safe with a four kg increase to 195. He sat back in the clean; struggling to stand but managed a fast jerk. Safaa Rashed al – Jumaili (IRQ) struggled a little to clean 196 but split very fast and wide for a good jerk. Seven successive misses followed with 197 and 198.
Jon Myong – song (PRK) started to black out with 197 in the jerk. Jang Yeon – hak (KOR) struggled to shoulder 197; pushing it back onto the clavicles after it slid off. He could not stand; as a result, he blacked out briefly falling over backwards. What ensued looked like something out of an episode of Benny Hill as the two doctors on duty clearly over reacted, misdiagnosed the problem; nearly making it worse. At one point they started rubbing the lifter’s chest and stomach with water.
Jon Myong – song (PRK) could not stand with 197. Lim Young -chul (KOR) struggled to clean 198 and did not attempt to jerk it. Yamamoto Toshiki (JAP) could not jerk 198 then was turned down for his third. Needing 202 to move into first Safaa Rashed al – Jumaili (IRQ) cleaned the weight easily then jerked forward without really locking his arms. He hopped forward with his final attempt at 202; this time waiting to get his balance; he split wide for a good lift and the gold medal.
94 kg class Sohrab Moradi (IRI) 410; Faris Ibrahim (QAT) 381; Sarat Sumpradt (THA) 380
This class looked to be competitive between the two Iranians until the third member of the team Kianoush Rostami zeroed in the clean and jerk. Consequently, Sohrab Moradi (IRI) was free to get in two good lifts then go for the world records. Faris Ibrahim (QAT) made a very wobbly 166 before failing to fix 170 overhead twice. The 85 kg Olympic champion Kianoush Rostami (IRI) tried to hop forward under 175 to no avail. He repeated with this weight for a solid lift. Lifting from a low squat (Hungarian start) Sohrab Moradi (IRI) almost power snatched 182. Kianoush Rostami (IRI) hopped forward under 185 losing the barbell backwards. Sohrab Moradi (IRI) jumped to the world record 189 pulling easily; without sinking low under the weight forward. He forced his body lower on the next to break the oldest record on the books and take an insurmountable lead into the clean and jerk.
Sohrab Moradi (IRI) snatches 189 to best the oldest record on the books. Charniga photo.
In the clean and jerk the problems for this weight class began with 210 (223% of bodyweight) and continued up through 222 (236%) & 234 – (249%). Sarat Sumpradit (THA) missed two jerks with 215 & 217. Kianoush Rostami (IRI) was unable to balance 220 overhead; missed the clean on the next before losing the jerk on his third with the same 220. Sohrab Moradi (IRI) jerked 221 with a rather shallow split to cinch the gold. Faris Ibrahim (QAT) made an uncoordinated effort to jerk 222. He did a half high pull with this weight on his third. With the gold in hand Sohrab Moradi (IRI) went to 234 to break his own record. Once again lifting from a full squat he had to bounce to get up with it. However, jerking with a bent back knee in a shallow split would not work with such a big weight. The bar slid off his chest slightly with his final attempt. He struggled to stand which doomed the jerk because he lacked the energy to effectively lift and counterbalance the barbell with the shallow bent back knee split.
105 kg class
Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) 421; Slawan Jassim (IRQ) 405; Ali Hashemi (IRI) 403
After Reza Barari (IRI) became the 4th Iranian to zero in this competition that left Slawan Jassim (IRQ) and Ali Hashemi (IRI) to fight it out for 2nd and 3rd as Olympic champion Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) was out of reach. Both Slawan Jassim (IRQ) and Ali Hashemi (IRI) dropped very low and very fast with their 177 1st attempts. Both went to 181 which mirrored their 177. Playing it safe Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) made 183 look like a routine warmup. Slawan Jassim (IRQ) slowed visibly dropping under 184; unable to fix it. Ali Hashemi (IRI) made this 184 to move ahead. Lifting from a low squat Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) made another smooth hop back lift with 187. He pulled 191 overhead, hopping back slightly; but had to take three steps forward to save it.
Ali Hashemi (IRI) struggled to clean 219; managed to split fast for a good jerk despite a wobbly start. Slawan Jassim (IRQ) slid forward under 220 before jerking a little forward. Starting with 222 to secure the gold Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) cleaned it easy before jerking fast from the fingertips. Relieved of the pressure of making a total after four teammates had zeroed, Ali Hashemi (IRI) struggled to stand with 224 before making an uncoordinated effort to jerk it. Slawan Jassim (IRQ) took the same 224 to move ahead cleaning it easy but unable to straighten his arms in the jerk.
Ali Hashemi (IRI) struggled even more with his 3rd at 224; this time he had even less energy to jerk. With the door to the silver medal wide open Slawan Jassim (IRQ) made a no foot movement clean; jerked forward; yet somehow managed to control the barbell for a good lift. Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) had to step forward coming out of the clean with 230. His fingertip jerk was easy.
Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) cleans 230. Charniga photo.
So much for moving your hands out wide or lowering the elbows for better pressing leverage.
The ‘sticky’ threshold in the jerk for this class came at 220 (210% of bodyweight) where seven of nine were misses.
+105
Behdad Salimi (IRI) 461; Saed Alihosseini (IRI) 456; Rustam Djangabaev (UZB) 455
Rustam Djangabaev (UZB) was the first of the top three to start in the snatch with 195. He dropped fast; sat very low for such a big man. He paused at the bottom to get his balance before standing. Behdad Salimi (IRI) dropped fast under 200 but cannot sit low. His 170 kg body mass gets in the way with otherwise accessible weights. Moving his feet to the side only, Rustam Djangabaev (UZB) made another fast low squat lift with 200. Saed Alihosseini (IRI) who had made 210 in training opened with a miss at 201. That is why they call it training.
He is another lifter whose bulk prevents him from lifting to his power potential. He took the same weight on his 2nd lifting it with a big lean forward to compensate for his inability to squat low. The only lifter to make three in this class Rustam Djangabaev (UZB) popped his feet wide to squat very low; a relatively fast 203. Behdad Salimi (IRI) unable to squat low enough to stabilize the athlete/barbell system ran forward with 206 until he ran out of platform. Saed Alihosseini (IRI) powered 208 overhead; almost power snatching the weight. Behdad Salimi (IRI) powered up 208 without pausing in the bottom; taking a step to fix it overhead.
Behdad Salimi (IRI) ‘pushing up’ hard to jerk 246. Charniga photo.
Behdad Salimi (IRI) managed to press his first with 237 fast enough to avoid his usual problems with the judging in the jerk. Saed Alihosseini (IRI) cleaned 240 easily with quite a lean forward in the squat; jerked it forward shaking; still managing to get the weight under control. Rustam Djangabaev (UZB) cleaned 240 with good mobility in the squat; jerking with a wide split. Behdad Salimi (IRI) jerked his 2nd with 246 with a faster press than his previous to move ahead of Alihosseini.
Saed Alihosseini (IRI) made a very easy hop back clean with 248 and another shaky forward jerk to move back into the lead. Rustam Djangabaev (UZB) let 248 crash on him in the clean and even though he jerked it well he could not hold it. He moved to 252 for a good lift. Unlike the two Iranians he jerks the barbell with the technique of a lighter man moving his body fast into a wide split instead performing what some of the big guys do; a glorified push press. Behdad Salimi (IRI) went to 253 to move ahead and after a little struggle to clean it he made arguably the best effort of the day in jerking the weight fast. Saed Alihosseini (IRI) took more than he needed for first with 254 unable to clean it.
General impressions:
The negative effect of excessive barbell oscillation with the 15 kg bar contributed to the missed world record attempt of KUO (TPE). It wasn’t the only factor but it needs to be taken into account for someone lifting 143 kg Or 246%. There is no research on the effect of barbell deflection in the horizontal plane. The research available has looked at the obvious bend in the vertical plane. However, the barbell is not only lifted strictly vertical, the bar brushes the thighs; the lifter moves the body in the fore aft direction in the process of lifting the weight to the starting position for the jerk. KUO experienced difficulty trying to stop this oscillation with 143 kg which had horizontal and vertical components, before beginning the jerk proper.
There have already been several injuries to males. No females injured except PRK sending out a lifter already injured.
I have been writing an essay about Valsalva. I have had some doubts as to whether this is necessary or if anyone would say we already know that and we have it covered. Those doubts have unequivocally been laid to rest here. There have already been several episodes. The first was the male (KOR) lifter. He tried to clean his last attempt but the weight slid off his clavicles. He made a big effort to put the bar back on his clavicles probably pushing it back against his neck; to make matters worse. He couldn’t stand so dropped the weight spun backwards; fell to the floor shaking uncontrollably.
What ensued can best be described as Benny Hill meets the Three Stooges. The two doctors on duty ran up and proceeded to tear the poor guy’s clothes off; first rubbing water on his stomach then to put a bag of ice on his chest. Apparently, the ‘diagnosis’ was heat exhaustion.
Some impressions about training:
I was watching some of the lifters workout. One in particular was doing what I call “pull catch drop”. Snatching the weight to arms length, dropping the barbell without fixing it and standing up; then immediately doing a second lift before standing up. She started missing when she tried a heavy single lift. The coaches made her go down and come back up; doing single full lifts. She made a couple but could not fix and balance a heavy weight. On the platform a few days later – she made only her 1st attempt. I doubt she or the coaches make the connection. Just getting a weight to arms length doesn’t mean you have balance.
It is no secret that most of the KOR and JAP lifters do a lot of stuff like this. No one seems to notice the Korean and Japanese lifters are good at pulling and squatting – but mediocre at best, at fixing the barbell in snatch and jerk; with poor balance skills to boot.
With all the misses in the clean and jerk especially the jerk from the chest on third attempts it is curious to observe some athletes with huge development of the quadriceps muscles with very little ability to jerk the barbell; even after an easy stand up from the squat. A perfect example of this is the guy on You Tube with the big squat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpDnYJJMs0s. He could not jerk the barbell on his 2nd and 3rd attempts. He was even lucky to make the 1st attempt; shaking like a leaf. This circumstance is not so much a low realization of leg strength as it probably is an indication that the development of leg strength from squatting reaches a point of diminishing returns and instead of a positive development it becomes a hindrance to the dynamic skill required to jerk a heavy barbell.
With four bomb outs there seemed to be some general lack of discipline on the part of (IRI). Apparently, to stem this epidemic the coaches had the two +105 guys start lighter and take smaller jumps than they would normally have done.