The 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships are taking place from December 6-15 in Manama, Bahrain. The competition has featured a number of impressive performances already, but hardly any compared to the one put up by Suk Ri. She competed in the 64-kilogram weight class, where she ended up taking first place overall after setting new World Records in the Clean & Jerk and Total events.
Suk Ri’s performance on the Clean & Jerk was spectacular to say the least. She opened up with 143 kilograms (315.3 pounds). The opener is usually a light attempt that the athletes make before progressing to the remaining lifts. However, Ri’s first lift was just 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) below the World Record at the time.
Keeping this in mind, it is not surprising that Suk Ri managed to break the World Record on her second attempt already with a Clean & Jerk of 147 kilograms (324 pounds). Un Sim Rim was also going for the record but was unsuccessful in her attempts.
Suk Ri still wanted to cement her Clean & Jerk record, further improving it on her final attempt to 149 kilograms (328.5 pounds). As seen in the video below, Ri’s lift was an almost perfect display of technique, not making a single mistake despite lifting a weight that no other athlete in her division has before.
*Suk Ri also held the previous U64KG IWF Clean & Jerk World Record, having lifted 146-kg (321.9-lb) at the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II.
Watch the lift here:
Suk Ri’s Full Performance
Over 40 athletes appeared in the U64KG weight class at the 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships, but Suk Ri ended up victorious by a significant margin. She successfully completed all six of her attempts, which is an incredible achievement on its own. Moreover, due to this, Suk Ri also managed to set a new U64 IWF Total World Record of 264 kilograms (582 pounds).
Snatch
- 108 kilograms (238 pounds)
- 112 kilograms (246.9 pounds)
- 115 kilograms (253.5 pounds)
Clean & Jerk
- 143 kilograms (315.3 pounds)
- 147 kilograms (324 pounds)
- 149 kilograms (328.5 pounds) — U64KG IWF World Record
Total — 264 kilograms (582 pounds) — U64KG IWF World Record
*Wei Deng held the previous U64KG IWF World Record, having accumulated 261 kilograms (575.4 pounds) at the 2019 IWF World Championships.
Suk Ri is currently 21-years-old and this win marked her first IWF World Championships title. This is just one of the elite victories that she has achieved, as her collection also consists of gold medals from Asian Championships and the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II. Ri now holds two World Records, with the only one missing being the Snatch. That being said, she is just 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) under the snatch record, meaning that it could fall into her hands in the near future as well.
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