▲ North Korea's Ri Song-gum celebrates after setting a world record by lifting 121 kg in her second clean and jerk attempt during the women's 49kg weightlifting final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Nagoya Congress Center in Japan on the 23rd.
After experiencing a medal drought in the early stages of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the North Korean delegation claimed its first gold medal of the competition on the 23rd, four days after the opening, in weightlifting, its traditional stronghold.
North Korea's women's powerhouse Ri Song-gum (28) won her third consecutive Asian Games gold medal by lifting 94 kg in the snatch, 121 kg in the clean and jerk, and a total of 215 kg in the women's 49kg weightlifting event held at the Nagoya Congress Center in Japan on the afternoon of the same day.
In weightlifting, where competitors start with lighter weights, Ri was the only athlete to request 90 kg from her very first snatch attempt, seizing the initiative over her competitors.
Ri stepped onto the platform only after all other competitors, who had requested weights between 67 kg and 88 kg, finished their turns.
Ri effortlessly lifted 90 kg on her first attempt and quickly succeeded at 94 kg as well, setting a world record and boasting an overwhelming difference in skill.
Standing on the platform in the clean and jerk only after the other competitors had finished, Ri lifted 116 kg in a single attempt, securing the gold medal with a total of 210 kg.
She then succeeded in her next request of 121 kg, setting new world records in both the clean and jerk and the total, and let out a roar.
Originally from Yongbyon, North Pyongan Province, Ri won gold medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang (48kg division) and the 2022 (held in 2023) Hangzhou (49kg division) Asian Games, and also triumphed at the 2024 and 2025 World Championships.
Due to her outstanding achievements, she has received titles such as the Kim Il Sung Youth Honor Prize and People's Athlete, and was selected as one of North Korea's Top 10 Best Athletes in 2015 and from 2021 to 2025.
Last January, the Korean Central News Agency reported that following the International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) weight class reorganization last year, North Korean athletes including Ri Song-gum, Oh Gwang-ok, Song Kuk-hyang, and Ri Suk held a total of 10 world records across all weight classes.
Whenever North Korean weightlifters achieve high results in international competitions, North Korea reports on it without exception and utilizes it for regime propaganda.
The Central News Agency also introduced that Ri Song-gum trained according to the "well-established reserve talent training system of the country."
At the venue on this day, a group of about 200 pro-Pyongyang Zainichi Koreans wearing red T-shirts reading "Win, Joseon" and waving North Korean flags gathered.
They filled the stadium with enthusiastic cheers every time Ri succeeded in her attempts.
When asked how it felt to witness a North Korean athlete win a gold medal in Japan, one supporting spectator replied, "It's the best."
Meanwhile, North Korea, which had continued a "no-medal" streak until the previous day and dropped outside the top 30 among the 46 participating delegations, climbed to 20th place overall as of this time, combined with Ri Song-gum's gold medal and Ri Jin-mi's bronze medal in soft tennis.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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