Shi Zhiyong (weightlifter, born 1993)

Shi Zhiyong (Chinese: 石智勇; pinyin: Shí Zhìyǒng; born 10 October 1993) is a Chinese weightlifter, two time Olympic Champion,[1][2] three time World Champion and four time Asian Champion competing in the 69 kg category until 2018 and 73 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories.[3]

Shi Zhiyong
Personal information
NationalityChinese
Born (1993-10-10) 10 October 1993 (age 31)
Lingui District, Guilin, Guangxi, China
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight72.90 kg (161 lb)
Sport
CountryChina
SportWeightlifting
Event–73 kg
ClubZhejiang Province
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's weightlifting
Representing  China
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro –69 kg
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo –73 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Houston –69 kg
Gold medal – first place 2018 Ashgabat –73 kg
Gold medal – first place 2019 Pattaya –73 kg
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Pyeongtaek –69 kg
Gold medal – first place 2016 Tashkent –77 kg
Gold medal – first place 2019 Ningbo –73 kg
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tashkent –73 kg
National Games of China
Gold medal – first place 2017 Tianjin –69 kg
Gold medal – first place 2021 Shaanxi –73 kg

Shi was born Shi Lei (Chinese: 石磊), but his coach Zhan Xugang gave him the new name after former Olympic Champion Shi Zhiyong.[4]

He holds the current world record in the -73 kg class for the snatch, and has set 13 world records.[5]

Career

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Olympics

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In 2016 he competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 69 kg category. After the snatch portion of the competition he was in second place, trailing Daniyar İsmayilov by a single kg. Shi was able to beat Daniyar İsmayilov by two kg in the clean & jerk portion of the competition, lifting 190 kg over Daniyar's 188 kg, this gave him a total of 352 kg[6] and an Olympic gold medal.[7]

In 2021 he competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 73 kg category. He set an Olympic record in both the snatch and clean & jerk portions, with lifts of 166 kg and 198 kg respectively, thereby setting the world record. Following this victory, he is now an Olympic champion in 2 weight categories.

In August 2024, Shi competed in the men's 73 kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France. He lifted 165 kg in the Snatch and took the lead with 10 kg ahead of second place, but he failed to register a successful attempt in the Clean & Jerk.

World Championships

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In 2015 he competed at his first World Championships. After the snatch portion he finished third, two kg behind Oleg Chen and Daniyar İsmayilov. In the clean and jerk portion he lifted 190 kg, which gave him a total of 348 kg and a gold medal in the clean & jerk and total.[8][9]

In 2018 the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories and Shi competed in the newly created 73 kg category. He put on a dominating display, earning gold in the snatch with a new world record of 164 kg,[10] this gave him an 8 kg lead over second place. During the clean & jerk, he also won gold by out lifting Won Jeong-sik by 1 kg to set a new world record clean & jerk of 196 kg. He won gold medals in all lifts and finished with a total of 360 kg,[11] a full 12 kg over the silver medalist Won Jeong-sik.

Coming into the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships, he was the heavy favorite[12] in the 73 kg category. During the snatch portion of the competition, he was the last competitor to attempt a lift after Bozhidar Andreev completed a 157 kg lift. With his first lift of 160 kg he secured the gold medal in the snatch, and added two more successful lifts to increase his snatch to 166 kg. Coming into the clean & jerk portion he was 9 kg ahead of the silver medalist Andreev, he completed his first lift of 190 kg which gave him a 356 kg total. After O Kang-chol completed his final lift, Shi clinched the gold medal in the total. His final lift was a world record lift of 197 kg, which also set a new world record in the total with 363 kg.[13]

Major results

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Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 69 kg 156 160 162 188 190 198 352  
2020 Tokyo, Japan 73 kg 158 163 166 OR 188 192 198 OR 364 WR  
2024 Paris, France 73 kg 161 165 168 191 191 191 DNF
World Championships
2015 Houston, United States 69 kg 155 158 161   187 190 190   348  
2018 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 73 kg 158 161 WR 164 WR   188 196 WR   360 WR  
2019 Pattaya, Thailand 73 kg 160 163 166   190 197 WR   363 WR  
2022 Bogotá, Colombia 73 kg
2023 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 73 kg
IWF World Cup
2019 Tianjin, China 73 kg 155 160 165   187 192 198   363  
2024 Phuket, Thailand 73 kg 161 164 165   191 195 196 5 356  
Asian Championships
2012 Pyeongtaek, South Korea 69 kg 130 137 144   170 180 180   324  
2016 Tashkent, Uzbekistan 77 kg 152 157 157   183 191 191   348  
2019 Ningbo, China 73 kg 160 165 WR 168 WR   193 193 194   362 WR  
2021 Tashkent, Uzbekistan 73 kg 160 164 169 CWR   190 194   363  
2023 Jinju, South Korea 73 kg
  • CWR: Current world record
  • WR: World record

References

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  1. ^ "Rio 2016 – Profile". Rio 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Rio 2016 – Men's 69kg Standings". Rio 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  3. ^ PDF listing of 2018 Group A world championship entrants in 73 kg
  4. ^ "Weightlifting: New Shi Zhiyong, same Olympic gold result". Reuters. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  5. ^ "China Won Gold". IWF.net. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  6. ^ LA Times (27 August 2016). "Shi Zhiyong gives China another gold medal in weightlifting". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: Shi Zhiyong wins men's −69kg weightlifting gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  8. ^ IWF.net (24 November 2015). "Two more world records as Kostova and 'the new Shi' take the honours". Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  9. ^ Ironmind. "Shi Zhiyong Wins the 69s". Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  10. ^ Barbend.com (5 November 2018). "Chinese Weightlifter Shi Zhiyong Sweeps Gold and Sets 3 World Records". Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  11. ^ Xinhaunet. "China's Shi Zhiyong breaks three world records to win 73kg at weightlifting worlds". Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Complete Guide to the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  13. ^ "China's star weightlifter Shi dominates men's 73kg at world championships". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
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