Weighing in at 78 kg the Chinese weightlifter Su Ying just hit a stunning 200 kg clean and jerk in training this week. We have not seen Su Ying compete internationally since the 2016 Asian Championships Weightlifting where he placed third. This 200 kg lift from training is now equal to the most weight that we have ever seen from Su Ying who hit 200 kg once before in national competition, the 2015 Chinese National Games to be exact, where he became the only athlete able to defeat the world and Olympic champion Lu Xiaojun, a weightlifter whose career in many ways overshadowed Su Ying. At those National Games the 77 kg Su Ying ended up snatching 170 kg alongside a 200 kg clean and jerk to total 370 kg, 10 kg less than Lu Xiaojun’s total world record of 380 kg from the 2013 World Championships.
Su Ying’s pull is absolutely tremendous to watch. He is a great example of what it means to finish with a full extension in order to achieve maximum vertical bar height. His speed under the bar, strength standing up, and stability and geometry in the jerk are characteristic of Chinese weightlifting.
Su Ying was born January 2nd 1994. He is the 2012 Junior Worlds silver medalist. His 150 kg snatch and 170 kg clean and jerk in the -69 kg class gave him a 320 kg total, 22 kg behind Chao Wu, whose astonishing clean and jerk of 190 kg was never seen internationally again. Su placed 5th in the -77 kg class at the 2015 World Championships in Houston with a 165 kg snatch and a 190 kg clean and jerk. His teammate at this competition Lu Xiaojun famously bombed out with a 201 kg clean and jerk after snatching 175 kg. Su Ying’s last international competition was in the -85 kg class at the 2016 Asian Championships where he won his first senior international medals with a silver medal 165 kg snatch, a 190 kg clean and jerk, and a 355 kg bronze medal total.