Weightlifting: Varazdat Lalayan takes bronze at the Ningbo Worlds as Armenia receives the flag for 2027
- Published
- Place
- Ningbo, China
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
Paris Olympic silver medallist and two-time world champion Varazdat Lalayan won bronze in the men’s over-110 kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China, on Sunday 8 November. The Armenian totalled 457 kg: 210 kg in the snatch, the second-best lift in the category, and 247 kg in the clean and jerk. The referees disallowed his second attempt at 252 kg, and he then missed 257 kg, the weight that would have put him in contention for gold. The title went to Iraq’s Ali Ammar (466 kg), ahead of Iran’s Alireza Yousefi (458 kg), who set a clean-and-jerk world record of 263 kg. The same day, the International Weightlifting Federation flag was handed to Armenia: the 2027 World Championships will be held in Yerevan.
Analysis
Lalayan delivered three of Armenia’s four medals at these Worlds, counting the individual lifts: silver in the snatch, bronze in the clean and jerk and in the total. The fourth was Alexandra Grigoryan’s clean-and-jerk bronze at 57 kg. With no title, injuries and several athletes failing to post a total, the results raise questions one year before a home championship, in a country where weightlifting remains a flagship sport.
Possible consequences
The Armenian federation now has a year to prepare the 2027 World Championships, awarded to Yerevan by the international federation in 2024.
