PARIS: Chinese Olympic weightlifting gold medallist Liu Huanhua on Saturday described the "torture" of stepping up several weight classes, explaining how he had to pile on the pounds.
Liu lifted 406 kilograms – 7kg short of his own world record in the 102kg class, the second-heaviest weight class for men.
Afterwards he explained how he had to "stuff a lot into my stomach" to make the jump from 81kg.
Akbar Djuraev of Uzbekistan, who finished 2kg behind Liu, moved the other way after winning the 109kg gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021, an event that is no longer part of the Olympic programme.
Yauheni Tsikhantsou, a Belarusian competing in Paris as a neutral athlete, took bronze.
Liu's win was China's fourth weightlifting gold in Paris, underlining their domination of the competition.
Liu said he had been forced to adjust when the 81kg class disappeared after the number of categories was trimmed from 14 in Tokyo to 10 for Paris.
"It was comfortable at the beginning because I had plenty to eat. There were a lot of things I was afraid to eat in the past," he said.
"My weight increased to 98kg and then stopped. I had to stuff a lot into my stomach. There was a lot of fat so I had to increase cardio training – a lot of running and cycling. It was torture."
Djuraev said his weight loss had contributed to his failure to win gold.
"It was a little difficult to cope with the weight loss. That'd why I won silver," he said.--AFP