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The IWF has elected to bring back some of its previous categories. We’ve seen the return of some of the most competitive weight classes ever—if you’re a newer fan, you might not know how crazy things were in these divisions in years past.
The following categories are repeats of the sport’s bygone eras. Check out the weightlifting records when they were shuttered:
Weightlifting Records: Past & Future
Men’s 60KG:1973 - 1992
Snatch: 152.5KG, Naim Süleymanoğlu (TUR)
Clean & Jerk: 190KG, Naim Süleymanoğlu (TUR)
Total: 342.5KG, Naim Süleymanoğlu (TUR)
Kilo for kilo, Süleymanoğlu is by far the strongest weightlifter ever. Hampton Morris (USA) was slowly creeping into the 180s in the clean & jerk as a 61 (in training at least), but now that he’s moved up to 65, Naim’s bests look completely unassailable.
The last featherweight male to make a remotely believable case as successor to Süleymanoğlu was Om Yun-Chol (PRK), who totaled 303@56 in Rio. Om is retired and now works as a coach for North Korea’s Junior team.
Men’s 94KG:1998 - 2018
- Snatch: 189KG, Sohrab Moradi (IRI)
- Clean & Jerk: 233KG, Sohrab Moradi (IRI)
- Total: 417KG, Sohrab Moradi (IRI)
Moradi is back in the gym as of autumn 2025, but nowhere near his old self (yet). Meanwhile, Karlos Nasar (BUL) totaled 417 at 96 at ‘25 Europeans. His trajectory, until Worlds, was pointing straight upward, but political turmoil and changes to his coaching staff seem to have rattled things for the young prodigy.
Men’s 110KG:1973 - 1992
- Snatch: 210KG, Yuri Zakharevich (RUS)
- Clean & Jerk: 250.5KG, Yuri Zakharevich (RUS)
- Total: 455KG, Yuri Zakharevich (RUS)
At Worlds, Akbar Djuraev (UZB) made a statement when he called for a 245 clean & jerk, which he clarked. He’s the likely candidate for strongest non-super clean & jerker in the world this quad. It’s unlikely he’ll pass Zakharevich, but with Akbar, you never know.
Women’s 48KG:1988 - 1992, 1998 - 2018
- 1988 - 1992
- Snatch: 83KG, Liao Shuping (CHN)
- Clean & Jerk: 105.5KG, Liao Shuping (CHN)
- Total: 187.5KG, Liu Xiuhua (CHN)
- 1998 - 2018
- Snatch: 98KG, Yang Lian (CHN)
- Clean & Jerk: 120KG, Chen Xiexia (CHN)
- Total: 217KG, Yang Lian (CHN)
Records in the Women’s lightweight change hands regularly, usually between China and North Korea. While the current W48 record total is 210 by Ri Song-Gum (PRK), she and Chinese athletes Jiang Huihua & Hou Zhihui pushed the W49s to and beyond 220.
Women’s 53KG:1998 - 2018
- Snatch: 103KG, Li Ping (CHN)
- Clean & Jerk: 134KG, Zulfiya Chinshanlo (KAZ)
- Total: 233KG, Hsu Shu-Ching (TPE)
The former category of 55 wasn’t as competitive as other Women’s divisions. Kang Hyon-Gyong (PRK) held all the records there with 234 (104/131), but at Worlds this year as a 53 she totaled just 214, and was even out-snatched by Mihaela Cambei (ROU).
Women’s 58KG:1998 - 2018
- Snatch: 112KG, Boyanka Kostova (AZE)
- Clean & Jerk: 142KG, Kuo Hsing-Chun (TPE)
- Total: 252KG, Boyanka Kostova (AZE)
Kim Il-Gyong (PRK) totaled 249@59 last year, and is the closest to these numbers. Luo Shifang (CHN) is in the running as well with a best of 248 (108/140).
Women’s 63KG:1998 - 2018
- Snatch: 117KG, Svetlana Tsarukaeva (RUS)
- Clean & Jerk: 147KG, Deng Wei (CHN)
- Total: 262KG, Deng Wei (CHN)
Ri Suk (PRK) has already clean & jerked and totaled more as a 64, but has yet to go above 115 in the snatch. Deng was an unstoppable force for Team China in the 2010s. She won her last nine international events in a row between ‘14 and ‘19.
Women’s 69KG:1998 - 2018
- Snatch: 123KG, Oxana Slivenko (RUS)
- Clean & Jerk: 157KG, Zarema Kasaeva (RUS)
- Total: 276KG, Oxana Slivenko (RUS)
Song Kuk-Hyang (PRK) did 120/150 at Worlds with room to spare (literally, she declined her remaining attempts). At Asians earlier this year, she matched the 276 with 121 and 155.
