Taiwanese world record holder and Olympic medalist Kuo Hsing-chun on Thursday won two gold medals and a silver at the World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California.
Competing in the women’s under-58kg weight class, the Taiwanese weightlifter of Amis descent did not quite match her form at the Universiade in August when she set the world record for the clean and jerk at 142kg, but then again she did not have to.
Kuo finished even with 2016 Olympic champion Sukanya Srisurat of Thailand in the snatch at 105kg, but ceded the gold to the Thai because of Sukanya’s lighter weight.
Photo: CNA
She then won gold in the clean and jerk with a lift of 135kg, topping her closest competitor by 9kg, to also capture the gold in the combined lift with a total of 240kg.
In her gold-medal winning performance at the Universiade in August, Kuo had a snatch of 107kg and a clean and jerk of 142kg for a combined total of 249kg.
Earlier in the day, fellow Taiwanese Hsu Shu-ching withdrew from the under-53kg weight class competition after sustaining an elbow injury when attempting her third snatch.
Hsu, also an Olympic medalist, completed lifts of 91kg and 93kg in her first two attempts in the snatch, but injured her right elbow during her third lift at 96kg.
The 93kg lift was still good enough for a silver medal behind Sopita Tanasan of Thailand, but her injury eliminated any chance of her competing for a medal in the combined lift.
Both women received congratulations from Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee and Taiwan’s Representative to the US Stanley Kao.
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