China's weightlifter showcases one-legged 'flamingo' lift before winning Olympic gold

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China’s Li Fabin showcased his signature move and broke two Olympic records when he won the gold medal for weightlifting on Sunday.

One-legged stunt: The 28-year-old Chinese weightlifter pulled off a one-of-a-kind lift that had him momentarily standing on just one leg during his opening clean and jerk lift in the men's 61-kilogram (around 134 pounds) category, reported the Associated Press.

  • During his lift of 166 kilograms (366 pounds), Li kept his left foot planted while lifting his right leg and slightly extending it forward in the air.

  • The lift, which the press calls as the ”flamingo,” is a technique that Li has performed in previous competitions.

  • According to the athlete, the move allows him to adjust his balance should anything go wrong as he starts lifting.

  • "It was a momentary mistake, I almost lost my balance, but I had been working on this scenario in training," Li was quoted by Reuters as saying after the event.

  • Li warned others against trying it because it poses a "serious risk of injury." "I have a very strong core, and I have really worked hard on that move," he said.


Record breaker: Even more impressive than his balancing stance was his record-breaking lifts in the clean and jerk and total categories, lifting 172 kilograms (379 pounds) and 313 kilograms (690 pounds), respectively.

  • Li's performance has allowed the Chinese team to win three gold medals in three events in Tokyo Olympic weightlifting.

  • Chen Lijun took the second gold for China in the 67-kilogram (147.71 pounds) category, while Hou Zhihui added China's third gold medal after competing in women's 49-kilogram (108 pounds) weightlifting.

  • By lifting 210 kilograms (463 pounds) in her category, Hou also set new Olympic records in the snatch, clean and jerk, and overall total.

  • Meanwhile, Liao Qiuyun took only silver in the 55-kilogram category behind the Philippines' Hidilyn Diaz, who set a new Olympic record with a combined weight of 224 kilograms (493 pounds).


Featured Image via WOLF WEIGHTLIFTING

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