Alireza Yousefi has made history once again at the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships, which took place on May 11-17 in Gandhinagar, India. Competing in the Men’s +110-kg category, the super-heavyweight powerhouse locked out a massive 261-kilogram (575.4-pound) Clean and Jerk, setting a brand-new world record in the newly restructured weight class.
Alireza Yousefi’s Performance Overview
Yousefi stepped onto the platform, weighing in at an impressive 199 kilograms (438.7 pounds), proving that his explosive power and technical precision are unmatched among the world’s heaviest lifters. He ended up placing second overall but also walked away with a new World Record.
Snatch
Alireza Yousefi started his performance with an opener of 177 kilograms (390.2 pounds) in the Snatch event. Seeing that it went up smoothly, Alireza decided to add 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) for his second attempt. This earned him a third-place finish in the event, but he still had one attempt remaining.
For his final attempt, Yousefi decided to load 189 kilograms (416.7 pounds) on the bar. While it was a smaller jump compared to his previous lifts, he ended up failing the lift. Nonetheless, Alireza knew that he had to remain focused for the Clean & Jerk.
- 177 kilograms (390.2 pounds)
- 184 kilograms (405.7 pounds)
- Unsuccessful — 189 kilograms (416.7 pounds)
Clean & Jerk
The clean and jerk is where Yousefi truly shines, and he used his opening lift strategically to guarantee both the gold medal in the discipline and the overall silver medal for the total. With the podium secured, he went straight for history on his second attempt by loading the bar to a world-record weight of 261 kilograms (575.4 pounds). Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the lift
Showing incredible resilience, Yousefi returned to the platform for his third and final attempt at the exact same weight, fighting through the lift to lock it out successfully and rewrite the record books. Moreover, he beat the next heaviest Clean & Jerk at the competition by over 15 kilograms (33.1 pounds)
- 248 kilograms (546.7 pounds)
- Unsuccessful — 261 kilograms (575.4 pounds)
- 261 kilograms (575.4 pounds) — +110KG IWF World Record
*Alireza Yousefi is the first man in the +110KG weight class to exceed the ‘World Standard’ that was established upon the creation of the division. The standard was set at 260 kilograms (573.2 pounds), meaning that Yousefi exceeded it by 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds).
Total — 445 kilograms (981.1 pounds)
2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships Results — +110KG Weight Class
- Gor Minasyan (BHR) — 457-kg (1,007.5-lb)
- Alireza Yousefi (IRI) — 445-kg (981.1-lb)
- Song Yeong-hwan (KOR) — 416-kg (917.1-lb)
Watch Alireza Yousefi’s Clean & Jerk here:
Alireza Yousefi is 22 years old, but he has already achieved tremendous things in the sport of weightlifting. He has won two gold medals at the World Junior Championships, as well as the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. Yousefi has now podiumed for the first time at the Asian Championships, where he also set a new Clean & Jerk World Record.
