Paris Olympics: Chinas Li Fabin calls weightlifting gold a mission for my country

Nicknamed Flamingo because of a lifting style where he raises one leg off the ground, Li had a minor wobble on his first attempt to lift 167kg. The air inside a packed 7,800-capacity venue was filled with tension as Li quickly returned for his second go.

The 31-year-old emitted a scream from the back of the stage, before walking forwards, crouching and fixing his eyes into the distance. Li comfortably hoisted the bar onto his shoulders, before steadying himself for the exertion of raising it above his head.

The effort of completing the lift briefly turned Li’s face a deep shade of red, as he stumbled forwards before swiftly readjusting to stand firm.

From the moment the light flashed green to confirm Li’s lift was legal, the rest of a shredded field was disputing the minor medals.

Li said he was reconsidering previous plans to quit after being “moved” by the support he received in the French capital.

Injuries to both knees have limited him in the clean and jerk, and complicated his training programme, but Li was driven by thoughts of delivering more success for China.

“To overcome injuries, you need strong mental power,” Li told the Post.

“My team helped provide that power and strength. I don’t think too much about [mental challenges], with the Olympic spirit motivating me.

“This was a mission for my country. I wanted to defend this title for China and that gave me immense mental power.”

Thailand’s Theerapong Silachai, who was 2022 world champion in the lighter 55kg category, completed six legitimate lifts across the competition for an Asian one-two on the podium.

The demonstrative 20-year-old American Hampton Morris claimed bronze. Morris equalled the Olympic record of 172kg in the clean and jerk portion. He then added 6kg to the bar for a brave attempt to steal silver from Silachai.

A 178kg lift would have improved the world record by 2kg, but it was a leap too far for Morris, who lost control in the second half of his action.

The pressure of competing in world-class company persuaded a number of athletes to adopt a “go-big-or-go-home” attitude to the snatch segment.

Among them was Sergio Massidda, the Italian who was runner-up to Li at last year’s world championship in Saudi Arabia. Reaching for intimidating weights from the beginning, Massidda recorded three no-lifts and was eliminated at halfway.

The same fate befell John Ceniza of the Philippines, Bulgaria’s Ivan Petkov and Trinh van Vinh from Vietnam.

Irawan’s silver hopes exploded as he recorded a trio of clean and jerk no-lifts. Adding injury to insult, the Indonesian hurt himself straining to clear 165kg on his final attempt and had to be helped from the stage.

While those all around him were falling, the man they call the Flamingo soared to glory.

“All these spectators moved me, it is hard to say goodbye to competition,” Li added. “It is possible that I want to continue.”

Yang Jiayu, meanwhile, said she summoned the “Chinese spirit” to reach the end of a frustrating marathon race walk mixed relay with partner Zhang Jun.

The 28-year-old Yang won gold in the individual event, but her attempt to return to the podium was thwarted when Zhang received a penalty on the third of four legs. Zhang was hit with a third red card that condemned him to three minutes in a penalty zone.

The Chinese pair, who had been second earlier in the race, placed 15th, one position behind compatriots He Xianghong and Qieyang Shijie in 14th. The Spanish duo of Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez won gold.

“The first two legs, we had some advantage and were doing well, but we didn’t expect so many penalties on the third leg.” said Yang. “When I took over, I didn’t think about chasing a podium position.

“I just wanted to focus on having good technique, and display a confident me … I wanted to show the Chinese spirit.

“Two more red cards and we would’ve been disqualified … so I just wanted to play it safe.”

Another Chinese athlete, Wu Yanni, will race in Thursday’s 100 metres hurdles repechage races after coming home sixth in her heat on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, China’s bid to conquer the table tennis arena remained on track, with the men’s team of Wang Chuqin, Ma Long and individual gold medallist Fan Zhendong brushing aside South Korea 3-0.

That set up a semi-final against Brazil or France on Thursday. The Chinese have won all three table tennis golds on offer, with two remaining up for grabs.

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