BEIJING — Super heavyweight Jang Mi-ran set three world records Saturday to claim South Korea’s second weightlifting gold in Beijing and the unofficial title of the world’s strongest woman.
Jang was so superior in the women’s heaviest division that second-place Olha Korobka of Ukraine skipped her final lift, knowing she wasn’t going to do better than silver.
The South Korean set new world records in both events — snatch and clean and jerk. Her total score of 326 kilograms (718.7 pounds) was also unprecedented, beating the previous high mark by 7 kg (15.4 pounds).
Mariya Grabovetskaya of Kazakhstan took the bronze.
Jang, who has dominated the weight class in recent years, snatched 140 kg (308.6 pounds) — the weight of a small piano — and heaved 186 kg (410.1 pounds) in the clean and jerk.
“I would not necessarily say I’m the strongest woman in the world. But certainly winning three world championships and winning this gold medal in the Olympics is a very great honor,” she Jang, who has dominated the weight class in recent years.
The Olympic super heavyweight crown also carries the unofficial title of the world’s strongest woman, although there are probably athletes in other muscle sports who could dispute that claim.
A slight disappointment for Jang was that her biggest rival was missing: previous world record-holder Mu Shuangshuang of China.
With a limit of four women competitors in Olympic weightlifting, the medal-hungry host nation prioritized other weight categories where they had a better chance of winning. The strategy worked as China won all four of the women’s categories.
“I thought (Mu) would attend these games so I was very surprised to not see her name in the start list,” Jang said. “If I have the opportunity to compete with her in the next Olympics I will definitely feel less lonely.”
Jang had good reason to feel a bit lonesome in the super heavyweight competition, reserved for lifters who weigh more than 105 kg (231.5 pounds).
She was in a class of her own from her very first snatch at 130 kg (286.6 pounds), 10 kg (22.1 pounds) more than any of her competitors had managed in all three attempts.
She broke the world record total by lifting 183 kg (403.4 pounds) in her second clean and jerk, but the crowd called for more and Jang responded by adding another 3 kg (6.6 pounds) in her final lift.
In the snatch, the bar is raised above the head in one continuous motion. The clean and jerk is a two-part lift in which the bar is first raised to shoulder level before being pushed overhead.
In both lifts, the arms must be fully extended with elbows locked.
Jang’s competitors said they were not even thinking about challenging her for the gold.
“My one target was to win the silver medal today,” said Korobka, whose total score was nearly 50 kg (110 pounds) below Jang’s.
Having reached her goal, the Ukrainian, who weighed in at 167 kg (368 pounds), said she looked forward to relax a bit and focus on one of her big hobbies: dancing.
“If there is a disco in the Olympic village, now I have the time so I’ll go and dance,” she said.
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