The 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships took place on December 6-15 in Manama, Bahrain. The competition featured a plethora of incredible lifts throughout the days, but it was Yan Li who closed it out with a tremendous 149-kilogram (328.5-pound) Snatch. This marked new IWF +87KG World Records in both the Open and Junior age classes.
Yan Li is just 20-years-old, which means that she is in the final year of the Junior age class. As such, she was eligible to break records in both the Junior and Open divisions. However, this was an insanely difficult task, especially considering how impressive the former record was. This adds to the significance of Yan’s performance, who managed to reach an impressive level with only a few years of training.
Yan Li opened up her snatch session with a lift of 135 kilograms (297.6 pounds), and followed it up with 142 kilograms (313 pounds) on her second attempt. She had already developed an 18-kilogram (39.7-pound) lead over the second-best athlete at this point, which gave her the ability to take a risk on her final attempt.
Consequently, Yan Li set her sights on the Snatch World Record. In order to do so, Yan had to load 149 kilograms (328.5 pounds) on the barbell. Despite the huge weight jump, Yan still completed the snatch with perfect technique. She first snatched the bar over her head with ease, then took a second to stabilize herself, and finally squatted up to complete the lift.
*Li Wenwen held the previous +87KG IFW Snatch World Record of 148-kg (326.3-lb). She achieved the lift at the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships.
Watch the record-breaking snatch here:
Yan Li’s Full Performance
After setting the Snatch World Record, Yan Li achieved a lead of 25 kilograms (55.1 pounds) over second place. With another three successful attempts on the Clean & Jerk, Yan managed to further extend that lead. So, she ended up winning the World Championships in a comfortable fashion.
Snatch
- 135 kilograms (297.6 pounds)
- 142 kilograms (313 pounds)
- 149 kilograms (328.5 pounds) — +87KG IWF Open & Junior World Record
Clean & Jerk
- 160 kilograms (352.7 pounds)
- 170 kilograms (374.8 pounds)
- 175 kilograms (385.8 pounds)
Total — 324 kilograms (714.3 pounds)
The 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships was Yan Li’s first major international appearance, and she made it quite a remarkable one. She broke the record that was formerly held by a 2x Olympic champion, which in itself shows just how much potential she has. There is no doubt that she will continue putting up even greater performances in the coming years and perhaps become an unstoppable force in the +87-kilogram weight class.
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