The 96 kg weight class currently faces a huge power vacuum. The Iranian titans Sohrab Moradi and Kianoush Rostami seem unlikely to qualify for the Olympics, and the reigning world champion Tian Tao facing some extremely tough competition in simply making selection in the highly qualified Chinese men’s team.
As a result of this, there are a handful of elite 96s who all of a sudden stand a good chance at making the podium, most likely alongside the young talent Meso Hassona (QAT) who stands atop the list of those not mentioned before. Both Anton Pliesnoi (GEO) and Boady Santavy (CAN) sit in this group of podium chasers.
Anton Pliesnoi
- Gold medal snatch at the 2019 World Championships – 181kg
- 2019 World Championships total bronze medalist – 181/213/394
- 2019 U23 European Champion – 173/215/388
Boady Santavy
- 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medalist – 168/201/369
- 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist – 176/208/384
- Highest Sinclair in Canadian history
Boady and Anton went head to head at the 2020 Roma WWC in spectacular fashion. They lifted far above their competition, trading lifts back and forth for the gold medal. The atmosphere in the backroom was as electric as it was on the platform, and their constantly evolving relationship in the back room a terrific insight into the subtleties that we so rarely get to see in weightlifting.
Subscribe to the Weightlifting House Patreon page for a full heavy training session of Boady Santavy, along with exclusive training sessions of Lasha Talakhadze, Lu Xiaojun, Tian Tao, Tatiana Kashirina, and many more, along with weekly exclusive podcasts and the House weightlifting program.