See our World Weightlifting Championships 2019 Hub for full details of all categories.
This group began with even more consistency than the earlier W59 A group. Ten good lifts went in before Yuan Chengfei (CHN) missed his second snatch to put the first red on the scoreboard.
Clarence Cummings Jr (USA) had an attempt at 155 to break his own junior world snatch record but couldn’t make it.
Shi Zhiyoung (CHN), the 2016 Olympic gold medalist, waited until everyone else had finished their snatches before opening at 160. He made mincemeat out of that before hitting 163 and 166. This was two kilos below his own world record but presumably, he was planning to hit a 197 clean and jerk to extend that record and break his total record of 362 by a kilo.
Shi was last to open on clean and jerk, with 190, which he proceeded to power clean and jerk in a dismissive fashion. That gave him an ten kilo lead in the total, all but securing the overall goal medal. His coaches then wrote in a 197 clean and jerk for world record attempts.
Unlike on snatches, there were some other lifters with clean and jerks to complete between Shi’s attempts. While the clean and jerk and total golds seemed out of reach, there were a few lifters in the mix for the other medals. O Kang Chol (PRK) won that battle, hitting 3/3 on clean and jerks to take the silvers ahead of Bozhidar Andreev (BUL).
That left just Shi Zhiyong’s world record attempt to come. This time he did a full clean, completing it easily and finishing with a squat jerk to extend his records. He declined his third attempt, presumably having executed the competition exactly to plan.
Medals
| Snatch | Clean and Jerk | Total | |
| Gold | Shi Zhiyong (CHN) – 166 | Shi Zhiyong (CHN) – 197 | Shi Zhiyong (CHN) – 363 |
| Silver | Bozhidar Andreev (BUL) – 157 | O Kang Chol (PRK) – 193 | O Kang Chol (PRK) – 347 |
| Bronze | Briken Calja (ALB) – 156 | Bozhidar Andreev (BUL) – 189 | Bozhidar Andreev (BUL) – 346 |
New Records
- World clean and jerk record – Shi Zhiyong (CHN) – 197
- World total record – Shi Zhiyong (CHN) – 363
A Group Results
| Name | Nation | Sn 1 | Sn 2 | Sn 3 | C+J 1 | C+J 2 | C+J 3 | Total | |
| 1 | SHI Zhiyong | CHN | 160 | 163 | 166 | 190 | 197 | — | 356 |
| 2 | O Kang Chol | PRK | 150 | 154 | x156 | 185 | 191 | 193 | 347 |
| 3 | ANDREEV Bozhidar Dimitrov | BUL | 149 | 154 | 157 | 185 | 189 | x192 | 346 |
| 4 | CALJA Briken | ALB | 151 | 156 | — | 181 | 190 | x190 | 346 |
| 5 | LIKHARAD Vadzim | BLR | 154 | x157 | x158 | 184 | x189 | x189 | 338 |
| 6 | MAYORA PERNIA Julio Ruben | VEN | 147 | 152 | x157 | 185 | x191 | x192 | 337 |
| 7 | BAK Joohyo | KOR | 147 | 151 | x155 | x186 | 186 | x191 | 337 |
| 8 | WON Jeongsik | KOR | 146 | 150 | 153 | x183 | 183 | x188 | 336 |
| 9 | CUMMINGS JR Clarence | USA | 145 | 150 | x155 | x183 | 183 | x191 | 333 |
| 10 | YUAN Chengfei | CHN | 146 | x151 | x155 | 181 | x185 | 187 | 333 |
| 11 | BEN HNIA Karem | TUN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
A Group Start List
| NAME | NATION | ENTRY |
| LIKHARAD Vadzim | BLR | 351 |
| ANDREEV Bozhidar Dimitrov | BUL | 350 |
| O Kang Chol | PRK | 350 |
| SHI Zhiyong | CHN | 350 |
| MAYORA PERNIA Julio Ruben | VEN | 349 |
| BAK Joohyo | KOR | 348 |
| CUMMINGS JR Clarence | USA | 347 |
| CALJA Briken | ALB | 346 |
| BEN HNIA Karem | TUN | 346 |
| WON Jeongsik | KOR | 345 |
| YUAN Chengfei | CHN | 345 |
My prediction is that 2019 European Champion Bojidar Andreev will be the big surprise in this group and he will take the silver in the total. Chengfei will be out of top three. Shi will finish first and Mayora third. It will be a great session to watch!