▲ Pak Myong-jin of North Korea, who won the gold medal in the men's 65kg division.
North Korean weightlifting national team member Pak Myong-jin claimed the gold medal in the men's 65kg division at the 2026 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships, setting new world records.
Competing on the second day of the tournament held in Ningbo, China, on October 28, Pak lifted 144kg in the snatch and 187kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 331kg, edging out Turkey's Muhammed Furkan Özbek (total 330kg) by a 1kg margin to reach the top of the podium.
Pak broke the previous world records in both the clean and jerk and the total.
Having previously won the gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held in Japan last month, Pak continued his strong performance on the international men's weightlifting stage.
Following Ri Song-gum's gold medal win with a world record in the women's 49kg division the previous day, the North Korean weightlifting team stood at the top of the podium for two consecutive days.
Today's match was a fierce battle in which three medalists broke world records consecutively.
Notably, Hampton Morris of the United States, who finished third, expressed joy after lifting 189kg on his final clean and jerk attempt in pursuit of a comeback victory and a world record.
However, following a video review by the judges, the lift was ruled a "no lift" due to an arm press-out infraction.
Ultimately, Morris had to settle for the bronze medal with a total of 328kg (143kg in snatch, 185kg in clean and jerk).
U.S. men's weightlifting narrowly missed out on producing its first world champion in 57 years, since Joe Dube in 1969.
China's He Yueji, who had lost to Pak at the Asian Games, took first place in the snatch with 148kg, but managed only 167kg in the clean and jerk, dropping to sixth place overall with a total of 315kg.
He also surrendered his previously held world records in the clean and jerk and total to Pak.
South Korea's Yun Yeowon finished in 17th place with 128kg in the snatch, 161kg in the clean and jerk, and a total of 289kg.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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