Rizki Juniansyah wins gold in 73kg weightlifting for Indonesia

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JAKARTA (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Rizki Juniansyah dominated the men’s 73kg weightlifting competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday, winning the gold medal with a total of 354kg.

He capitalised on mistakes by other medal contenders and beat Thailand’s Weeraphon Wichuma, the silver medalist who lifted 346kg at the South Paris Arena, by a wide margin of 8kg.

“I’m very happy, proud and very excited. This is my first gold medal and I’m making history,” Junecia told Olympics.com.

“Thank you to all the Indonesian people for their support and to those who watched the game at home,” he said.

“There are no words to describe how I feel. You saw me crying because it was such a moving and beautiful experience and I’m already looking forward to the future,” he said.

Juniancia started the snatch competition with 155kg, 10kg behind China’s Shi Zhiyong and 1kg behind Venezuela’s Julio Mayora Peña.

However, in the clean and jerk competition, the situation took a dramatic turn. Both Shi Yuqi and Peña failed to register valid weightlifting results and thus lost the qualification to compete for medals.

With her main rivals already eliminated, Junecia only needed to deliver a solid clean and jerk performance to win the gold medal.

He successfully lifted 191 kg on his first attempt and stayed ahead as other competitors challenged him.

Muhammed Ozbek of Turkey and Wichuma of Thailand were tied with Junesia in the snatch weight, but Junesia had a clear advantage.

Wicuma then lifted 198 kg, setting a new record, surpassing his own junior world record of 195 kg.

Juniancia faced pressure on his second attempt but responded with a stunning 199kg to set a new Olympic record in the men’s 73kg clean and jerk and win the gold medal.

“I’m young, but age doesn’t matter,” Junecia said.

“Training is crucial. Some people perform well in training but struggle under pressure, while others may struggle in training but shine when it matters most,” he stressed.

Although Wicchuma was disappointed to miss out on the gold medal, he was excited about the silver medal he won.

“I wasn’t expecting a medal today, but my goal is to win a medal in Los Angeles,” the 19-year-old said.

“I’m very proud of myself,” he affirmed.

Bulgarian athlete Bozhidar Dimitrov-Andreyev took advantage of the mistakes of Shi Yuqi and Mayora Peña and won the bronze medal with a total score of 344 kg (154 kg snatch and 190 kg clean and jerk).

With this achievement, Indonesia now has two gold medals and one bronze medal in its arsenal for the Paris Olympics in 2024. Sport climber Veddriq Leonardo won Indonesia’s first gold medal in the men’s speed event, while Gregoria Mariska Tunjung won bronze in the women’s singles badminton event.

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