The podiums for the Weightlifting events at this summer’s Olympics will have both a familiar and yet different feel to them, if such a thing is possible.
The familiarity will come from China. Chinese lifters won 5 golds at the 2016 games and could easily match – even potentially comfortably exceed – that record this time. Their lifters have dominated the sport in recent years and most go into their event as overwhelming favourite.
The difference will come for two reasons. Firstly, North Korea – a traditionally strong nation in this discipline – has declined to attend these Games at all, citing the current pandemic. Secondly, serious attempts have been made to deal with doping issues in the sport, which seemingly had become endemic. Four countries – Egypt, Malaysia, Romania and Thailand – have been entirely excluded from weightlifting at these Games. Many other countries have had severe limits placed on the number of athletes they can select, based on the severity of the anti-doping violations they have accrued.
All this means that there is potential for some different faces on the podium. Even Great Britain – not a nation noted for a particularly strong medal record in this discipline at the Olympics – has a couple of legitimate outside shots at the podium, with Sarah Davies perhaps the most likely.
Finally, it is fair to say that weightlifting will almost certainly make the wider headlines during the games. Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand will be the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Games and has a reasonable shot at the podium in the women’s +87kg division.
Ian's World Of Sports 