Phuket, Day 11: Li Wenwen back to her best – and brave Park qualifies for Korea despite losing her mother
China’s Olympic champion Li Wenwen built the biggest rankings lead in all 10 weight categories for Paris 2024 when she returned to the platform six months after suffering an elbow injury at the World Championships.
The young Korean in second place in the women’s super-heavyweights at the IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, also put in a remarkable performance. Park Hyejeong, who is second in the Paris rankings, lost her mother to cancer about a week ago.
Li Wenwen (CHN)
“It has been difficult, but I came because this is such an important competition,” said Park, 21. “I know my mother would have wanted me to be here.”
Choi Sung-Yong, president of the Korean Weightlifting Federation, said: “We worried quite a lot because she is young to handle these circumstances. But we trusted her to perform well. She prepared very well for this competition. We are proud of her.”
Li missed the Asian Games in her home nation in October, the Qatar Grand Prix in December and the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan in February because of the injury, which she suffered when trying to make a 130kg snatch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Park won the world title when Li was unable to continue.
Today Li showed how confident she was in her fitness when she opened higher than she had done in Riyadh on 133kg. After four good lifts she had already equalled her best qualifying total, and after improving it by 10kg with the next lift she declined the final attempt. Li finished 145-180-325.
Park Hyejeong (KOR)
Li is ranked 29kg clear of Park, whose 130-166-296 was up 1kg on her best qualifying total. She had another chance to break the 300kg barrier for the first time but just failed with a final attempt at 171kg.
“I told you last time (at the Asian Championships) that I would get 130-170 and make 300 for the first time in Thailand,” said Park. “I didn’t quite do it, but now I can tell you I will make more than 300 in Paris.”
A challenge from her older team-mate Son Younghee did not materialise. Son made only two good lifts and finished 122-161-283 in third place.
Chaidee Duangaksorn, who prides herself on being “the only super-heavyweight in Thailand” was fourth and Mary Theisen Lappen from the United States was fifth. Both were well down on their best qualifying totals and fill the same places in the rankings.
The Tokyo silver medallist Emily Campbell from Great Britain, who is third, withdrew after weighing in, as did those ranked seventh and eighth, Lisseth Ayaovi from Ecuador and Halima Sedky from Egypt.
Chaidee Duangaksorn (THA)
The two other improvers on the day, Iuniarra Sipaia from Samoa and Naryury Perez from Venezuela, finish ninth and tenth on 267kg.
All five continental federations are represented in the top 10, so the continental slot will be reallocated. Solfrid Koanda from Norway, ranked sixth, will go at 81kg so the athletes placed 11th and 12th can expect to be in Paris – the Tokyo 87kg bronze medallist Crismery Santana from Dominican Republic and Nurul Akmal from Indonesia.
Two 20-year-olds lifted impressively in the B Group. Junior world champion Wang Lin Chen from Chinese Taipei and bronze medallist Taiane Justino from Brazil both made all six attempts to post career-best numbers in first and second place.
Wang would have qualified for Paris on 118-148-266 if she had competed in enough events. She interrupted the Olympic qualifying schedule with two junior competitions, finishing second in the continental championships when she was below her best, then winning the world title in Guadalajara last November. Justino broke South American records on 108-145-253.
The men’s 109kg podium
Akbar Djuraev, third in the 102kg rankings and a medal contender at that weight in Paris, posted a big total in winning the men’s 109kg. Djuraev made 189-227-416 in five good lifts before declining the last one. He will have to shed a few kilos while preparing for Paris, having weighed in at 108.5kg.
Dadash Dadashbayli from Azerbaijan was second on 177-21-388, declining his final attempt, and Zaza Momtadze third for Georgia on 170-209-379.
Hernan Viera from Peru lifted 60kg more in clean and jerk than he did in snatch, winning a bronze medal in clean and jerk on 150-210-360.
By Brian Oliver
Photos by Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia