Huanhua Liu from Team China made history at the 2024 IWF World Cup, which took place from March 31st to April 11th in Phuket, Thailand. Competing in the 102-kilogram weight class, Liu pursued an achievement that no one before him managed to do, beating the World Standard. Consequently, Liu set U102KG the Clean & Jerk and Total World Records.
Note: The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) established the World Standard when they created the weight classes. It was set to ensure a high standard of World Records. So, Huanhua Liu has now set records by exceeding the World Standards in the U102KG weight class.
Huanhua Liu’s Full Performance
Snatch
The Snatch was Huanhua Liu’s first event, and he started off with a 175-kilogram (385.8-pound) lift. However, that was not enough to be competitive against his rivals. So, Liu quickly jumped to 181 kilograms (399 pounds) for his second attempt.
Huanhua Liu then tried to lift 186 kilograms (410 pounds) for his third attempt, which would have been a new Competition PR for him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t capable of successfully completing the lift. So, his second attempt at 181 kilograms (399 pounds) placed him 5th on the Snatch.
- 175 kilograms (385.8 pounds)
- 181 kilograms (399 pounds)
- Unsuccessful — 186 kilograms (410 pounds)
Clean & Jerk
Huanhua Liu knew that he needed to put in an incredible performance on the Clean & Jerk. So, he opened up with an incredibly heavy lift of 220 kilograms (485 pounds). In fact, by the end of the Clean & Jerk session, only one athlete out of nearly 30 managed to match Liu’s first attempt.
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However, Huanhua Liu did not pay too much attention to his rivals but instead focused on breaking the World Record. So, for his second attempt, Liu checked how he felt with slightly less weight than the record, which came out to 225 kilograms (496 pounds).
Ultimately, having nothing to lose, Huanhua Liu loaded 232 kilograms (511.5 pounds) for his final Clean & Jerk attempt. His lift looked incredibly smooth, but, once he got the bar above his head, Liu struggled to stabilize it. It kept pulling him forward, so he had to take a few steps to compensate. Liu was successful in the end and set a new U102KG World Record.
- 220 kilograms (485 pounds)
- 225 kilograms (496 pounds)
- 232 kilograms (511.5 pounds) — U102KG World Record
*The World Standard set by the IWF in 2018 stood at 231 kilograms (509.3 pounds).
Total — 413 kilograms (910.5 pounds) — U102KG World Record
*The World Standard set by the IWF in 2018 stood at 412 kilograms (908.3 pounds).
2024 IWF World Cup U102KG Podium
- Huanhua Liu (CHN): 413-kg (910.5-lb)
- Garik Karapetyan (ARM): 401-kg (884.1-lb)
- Yauheni Tsikhantsou (AIN): 400-kg (881.8-lb)
Watch Huanhua Liu’s C&J here:
Related: Yeison Lopez (89KG) Beats Karlos Nasar in Epic Battle for Snatch World Record at 2024 IWF World Cup
Huanhua Liu is just 22-years-old currently, which means that he has accumulated quite a lot of success at a very young age. He started off in the U96KG weight class, but quickly recognized that a bit more bodyweight would allow him to reach his full potential. So, since then, he has managed to win the 2023 IWF World Championships, the 2024 IWF World Cup, and set two new World Records.
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