Georgian Weightlifter Breaks World Record

Famous Georgian weightlifter competing in the +105 kg category, Lasha Talakhadze, broke the world record at the World Weightlifting Championship held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Talakhadze became the Number 1 in the world after he lifted 474 kg (a record 217 kg in a snatch and 257 kg in a push). Aside from breaking the world record, Talakhadze won three gold medals.

On September 23, 2018, at the World Weightlifting Championships held in Tbilisi, Talakhadze broke two world records by snatching a 264 kg lift and in the clean and jerk – a total of 478 kg.

At the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships, Talakhadze broke his own snatch record with 220 kg, and he went on to set a new world record for the total with 477 kg, also breaking the all-time highest total of Leonid Taranenko from 1988.

Last year, the Georgian National Olympic Committee awarded him the title of Georgia's Sportsperson of the Year.

Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze congratulated Talakhadze on his success, saying he is the pride of Georgia.

“The strongest man in the world is Georgian!” the PM’s Facebook post reads.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: Getty Images