IWF120y/59 – 2008: Eko Yuli Irawan (INA) starts his Olympic harvest

Indonesia’s most prolific sport in terms of Olympic medals is undoubtedly Badminton – with 22 out of the 40 podium presences (including eight of the 10 gold won so far) of the Asian nation at the Games. Weightlifting arrives next on the list, with 16 awards, including one gold, seven silver, and eight bronze medals. Two lifters deserve special mention: Eko Yuli Irawan (photo) and Rizki Juniansyah. Irawan, born in 1989, is the only Indonesian athlete with four Olympic medals and also the first one to take part in five consecutive editions of the Games. It all started in Beijing 2008, when he got the bronze in the 56kg. Four years later, in London, he competed in the 62kg and was again third (with his best-ever Olympic performance of 145-172-317). He would improve his ranking in Rio 2026 and Tokyo2020ne, earning silver on both occasions. In Paris 2024, and besides the weight of the bars, he had a big responsibility on his shoulders: he could become the first athlete in the history of the Sport with five Olympic medals! He didn’t succeed – after lifting 135kg in the Snatch, he bombed out in the Clean & Jerk. A day after this hiccup on his amazing career, he celebrated the gold medal of his teammate Rizki Juniansyah in the men’s 73kg, the first Olympic title in the history of Indonesian weightlifting. Still with 21 (he was born in June 2003), Juniansyah was junior world champion in 2021 and 2022 and also won two medals (silver) at the senior level – in 2022 and 2024. His Olympic triumph in 155-199-354 was achieved a few hours after the gold medal of a compatriot in sport climbing – on the same day, they became the only Indonesian Olympic champions outside the sport of Badminton! On the women’s side, lifter Raema Lisa Rumbewas (deceased in January 2024, at the age of 43) was the country’s first athlete to have won medals in three Olympic Games (silver in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, and bronze in Beijing 2008).