▲ Park Hye-jeong, who won the silver medal with a snatch of 133 kg, clean and jerk of 167 kg, and a total of 300 kg, poses with her medal at the women's +86kg weightlifting event of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Nagoya City Youth Exchange Center in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 29th. From left: Park Hye-jeong, gold medalist Li Wenwen (China), and bronze medalist Ehab Salih (Qatar).
While the top of the podium belonged to "weightlifting queen" Li Wenwen of China, the one who sparked an equally brilliant fire in her return to the legend was Park Hye-jeong (Goyang City Hall), who lifted the barbell with a bright smile from start to finish.
The women's +86kg weightlifting final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 29th at the Nagoya City Youth Exchange Center in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, was a drama performed by the world's greatest heavyweights.
Narrowed down to a three-way battle among seven competitors—Park Hye-jeong, Li Wenwen, and rising powerhouse Ehab Salih (Qatar)—the competition heated up right from the snatch event.
Park Hye-jeong kicked things off.
Requesting 128 kg for her first snatch attempt, Park lifted the barbell effortlessly with a loud shout.
Cheers echoing Park's battle cry burst from the stands as well.
After her rival Salih stalled at 120 kg and subsequently failed consecutive attempts at 129 kg and 131 kg, the stage was compressed entirely into a fierce head-to-head duel between Park Hye-jeong and Li Wenwen.
Following Park, who flashed her signature bright expression after easily clearing 130 kg in her second attempt, "legend" Li Wenwen finally made her appearance.
Lowering her opening weight from 135 kg to 132 kg for her first attempt, Li floated the barbell effortlessly above her head to immediately set a new games record.
However, Park Hye-jeong's momentum was fierce as well.
Requesting 133 kg in her immediate third attempt, Park lifted the barbell with an unwavering, flawless posture.
It was the moment she instantly broke Li's games record, as well as a new Korean record that surpassed her own personal best of 131 kg set at the 2024 Paris Olympics by 2 kg.
Then Li Wenwen unleashed her superhuman strength.
Having reclaimed Park's games record by lifting 136 kg in her second attempt, Li successfully hoisted a whopping 140 kg in her third attempt to set yet another games record.
It was an epic showdown featuring no fewer than four new games records traded back and forth between Park and Li during the snatch alone.
A fierce tactical battle continued in the clean and jerk as well.
While Salih slipped to the bronze medal after failing at 168 kg, Park Hye-jeong roared after clearing 163 kg in her first attempt and 167 kg in her second.
By adding her 133 kg snatch and 167 kg clean and jerk to reach a total of 300 kg, she established another new Korean record that surpassed her previous personal mark.
However, the wall of "world record holder" Li Wenwen was high.
Having easily succeeded at 166 kg in her first attempt, Li hoisted 170 kg in her second attempt for a total of 310 kg, widening the gap with Park to 10 kg and securing the victory.
Having locked down the gold medal, Li stepped onto the platform for her final third attempt and, instead of grabbing the barbell, made a large heart shape over her head to celebrate her victory.
It was the moment Li—who achieved back-to-back titles at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics and claimed two world championship titles—completed the final puzzle piece of her "career grand slam" by returning from the verge of retirement to capture an Asian Games gold medal.
It was also a match that felt strangely familiar to Park Hye-jeong.
Two years prior at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Li Wenwen also secured the gold medal with a total of 309 kg before skipping her third attempt to celebrate, while Park claimed the silver with a total of 299 kg.
It was a silver medal with the exact same "10 kg difference" as back then.
Although her dreams of revenge from two years ago and South Korean women's weightlifting's first-ever consecutive Asian Games titles were postponed for another day, there was no shadow on Park's face.
With a bright expression from beginning to end, she gracefully acknowledged the skills of the "living legend" while pouring everything she had prepared into setting two new Korean records.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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