Olympics crowns the world’s strongest man, but weightlifting’s lasting problem endures.
Lasha Talakhadze is now unbeaten in nine years, but the sport has sanctioned 565 weightlifters for doping offences over a decade. The Georgian weightlifter admits he can’t remember what it was like to lose, just as his rivals have seemingly lost all knowledge of how to win.
Talakhadze claimed his third Olympic title with another display of dominance in Paris, lifting significantly more than 28 stone to edge out Armenia’s Varazdat Malayan. You’ll find plenty of tantrums and tears at the weightlifting events, with bigger athletes seeming more emotional.
The world’s strongest man said: “It’s the most valuable medal in my sports career and the most important in my life. I feel very emotional, it’s a very emotional moment in my life.”
Talakhadze has been unbeaten since the 2015 World Championships, taking gold after original winner Aleksey Lovchev failed a doping test.
However, weightlifting has had plenty of final warnings from the International Olympic Committee about getting its house in order on doping. Between new sample analyses and the concealment of test results, over 30 weightlifters who made it to the podium in Beijing and London Games have now been disqualified and stripped of their medals.
The sport has allowed its place in LA in four years after a series of sweeping governance reforms. However, as a visual spectacle, it is sport at its purest. Watching an athlete stretch every sinew to explosively thrust the weight above their head is breathless stuff.
And it’s not just about brawn – mental fortitude is required, with a self-belief that even the most crushing of burdens can be overcome. There is none better than Talakhadze, a genius in a deeply flawed sport.
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/olympics-worlds-strongest-man-lasha-talakhadze-b2594622.html