The world’s strongest woman is quite the weightlifter. She is just not much of a farmer.
Zhou Lulu of China won a record-breaking over-75kg battle against Tatiana Kashirina of Russia on Sunday with a total of 333kg — more than any other woman had totaled before in two Olympic lifts, but growing up, her size sometimes worked against her.
“My family owns an orchard where they grow apples. I tried to go there, and work for a while and help them out, but when I entered the orchard I was too big,” the 24-year-old Zhou said. “Every time I turned around I would knock something over or hit one of the trees, so all the apples would come tumbling down and I would step on them. So my parents told me to come out and just stop. I was doing more harm than good.”
Photo: Reuters
In weightlifting, she found her place to shine and she did not care if people said the sport was not for women.
“Actually, I like weightlifting. So when you like something, you don’t think if it’s bad for your body shape or not feminine,” Zhou said. “I just do what I like.”
Zhou won China’s fifth weightlifting gold medal in London in a thrilling duel with Kashirina, who also finished second to Zhou at last year’s world championships.
Kashirina was in first place after shattering the world record twice in the snatch and Russia’s first weightlifting gold in London seemed in the bag when she firmed up wobbly legs to reach a world-record total of 332kg in her second clean and jerk.
However, her celebration and world record proved short-lived.
Zhou responded by lifting 187kg in her second clean and jerk to beat her rival’s total by just 1kg.
Exhausted from their high-octane duel, Kashirina could not reply and just dropped the bar in her final attempt.
Had her coaches picked a lower weight for her second clean and jerk, Kashirina might have been able to maintain an advantage over Zhou.
“I’ll put it this way — my job here is just to go on the platform and do the lifting,” Kashirina said. “The rest of it is decided and determined by my coach, the head coach and the rest of the people around me.”
Hripsime Khurshudyan won Armenia’s first medal of the Games by beating defending Olympic champion Jang Mi-ran of South Korea in the battle for bronze.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
Hulking Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan on Monday surged away from the pack to win the second stage of the Criterium de Dauphine in Issoire, France, to take the overall lead from Tadej Pogacar. The 1.93m, 87kg Milan had to battle to keep up on a hilly 204.6km run through central France from Premilhat. When the pack hit the home straight, he rocketed away from his rivals to collect a 10-second victory bonus and the yellow jersey. “That was really tough,” Milan said. “I was dropped at one point, and I was really on the limit, but I have to say
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
RSS