North Korea's Ri Song Gum won the women's 49-kilogram weightlifting gold at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Wednesday, September 23, setting world records in the snatch, clean and jerk, and combined total. Her victory gave North Korea its first gold medal of the Games, according to AFP and Yonhap.
Ri lifted 94 kilograms in the snatch and 121 kilograms in the clean and jerk for a total of 215 kilograms. AFP reported that those marks surpassed the current world standards of 93, 115 and 208 kilograms respectively. She also cleared 116 kilograms in the clean and jerk before raising the mark again to 121.
The record designation needs context: the International Weightlifting Federation introduced new bodyweight classes on August 1 and reset the record benchmarks, AFP reported. A lift above one of those new standards counts as a world record. Ri's three records therefore describe the marks in the revised category system.
India's Mirabai Chanu took silver with a 198-kilogram total, while Indonesia's Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana won bronze with 191 kilograms, according to AFP and Yonhap. Chanu's result was her first Asian Games medal; Al Jazeera reported that it ended India's 28-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the competition.
Ri, 28, had previously won Asian Games gold in Jakarta in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2023. AFP reported that Wednesday's victory made her the first woman to win three Asian Games weightlifting titles. The agency also reported that North Korean teammate Kang Hyon Gyong won the 53-kilogram event later on Wednesday, giving the delegation a second gold in the sport.
The new weight classes also affect the route to the next Olympics. AFP reported that women's 49 kilograms is absent from the six weight divisions planned for the Los Angeles Games, where 53 kilograms will be the lightest women's class. Asked about moving up, Ri said she would consider it. For now, her Nagoya result stands as a third consecutive Asian Games title and three records under the revised standards.
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