North Korea's Om wins surprise gold

30 Jul 2012, 6:24 am   -   Source: Reuters
North Korea's Yun Chol Om reacts after setting a new Olympic record on the clean & jerk 56Kg Group B weightlifting competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 29, 2012. REUTERS/Dominic Ebenbichler

North Korea's Yun Chol Om reacts after setting a new Olympic record on the clean & jerk 56Kg Group B weightlifting competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 29, 2012. REUTERS/Dominic Ebenbichler

LONDON (Reuters) - North Korea's Om Yun Chol won Olympic gold after matching the world record in the clean and jerk, beating Chinese world champion Wu Jingbiao into second place.

LONDON (Reuters) - North Korea's Om Yun Chol won Olympic gold after matching the world record in the clean and jerk, beating Chinese world champion Wu Jingbiao into second place.

Om's stunning 168 kilogram clean and jerk gave him an unassailable early lead, after he opted to participate in the earlier group B session, a tactic he said was designed to make later lifters nervous.

China's Wu failed on his final lift, leaving him 4 kg short of Om's combined 293 kg total across the two styles of Olympic, and was forced to settle for a silver medal.

Eighteen-year old Valentin Hristov of Azerbaijan won the bronze.

(Reporting by William James; editing by Jason Neely)

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube