OLYMPICS /
Team China
Veteran lifters continue China's dominance in weightlifting
Xinhua
Updated: 2008-08-11 23:06
Zhang, 25, bonze medalist at Sydney Games, totaled 319kg, 14kg more than that of the silver medalist, Colombia's Diego Salazar. The bronze went to Indonesian lifter Triyatno with 298kg.
Zhang Xiangxiang of China competes in the men's 62 kg weightlifting event during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Gymnasium in Beijing on August 11, 2008.[Agencies] Click for more photos
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Two of his arch rivals, Ji Hun-min of South Korea and DPR Korean lifter Im Yong Su, 2002 world champion, failed in all three attempts in clean and jerk.
Zhang dominated the field as no other lifters were able to hoist the weight Zhang jerked in his first attempt.
The Chinese weightlifting team has triumphed an one-hundred percent victory rate till to now as all the four Chinese lifters, two male and two female, have claimed titles.
Chen Xiexia, 25, won the women's 48kg category on the first competition day, contributing the first gold for the Chinese delegation and teen prodigy Long Qingquan triumphed in men's 56kg Sunday.
China didn't enter lifters in the women's 53kg event on Sunday. The gold of this category was won by Thai lifter.
Zhang said they had won so many golds because so many athletes trained hard for many years.
"China has always been good at weightlifting," he said.
However, Chinese men's team coach Chen Wenbin said it's unpredictable of the other four male lifters performance in the upcoming events.
"The competitions will be quite tough for them," said the coach.
