Iran's Falahati-Nejad Announced '2003 Weightlifter of the World'

Falahati-Nejad won the first gold medal of Iran in the 77kg category of the 73rd World Weightlifting Championships in Vancouver, southwest of Canada, Wednesday.

The Iranian lifter hunted the clean and jerk and combined golds as he totally hoisted 357.5kg -- 155kg in snatch and 202.5kg in clean and jerk.

He finished eighth in snatch competition among 38 weightlifters participating in this class.

Mohammad-Hossein Barkhah, also representing Iran in 77kg, pulled out due to his hand injury he picked while raising 165kg.

Li Hong-li of China grabbed the snatch coveted gold, lifting 162.5kg followed by the silver medalist Viacheslav Ershov from Russia and the bronze winner Gevorg Davtyan of Armenia with 162.5kg and 160kg respectively.

Davtyan won two silvers in clean and jerk and combined categories with 195kg and 355kg while the Turkish weightlifter Mehmet Yilmaz took the clean and jerk bronze with 195kg and his fellow countryman Reyhan Arabacioglu snatched the combined bronze with 355kg.

KK/IS

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MNA