Thach Kim Tuan lifts three gold medals at world championship hinh anh 1Thach Kim Tuan triumphed in the men’s 56kg category in all three events of snatch, clean and jerk and total. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Thach Kim Tuan took a hat trick at the ongoing International Weightlifting Federation World Championships held in California, the United States.

The Vietnamese triumphed in the men’s 56kg category in all three events of snatch, clean and jerk and total.

Tuan, 23, had a result of 126kg in the second attempt in snatch, which placed him in top position. His teammate, Tran Le Quoc Toan, was second with 119kg. Josue Brachi Garcia of Spain came third, lifting 118kg.

He then lifted 153kg in the clean and jerk and secured the second title.

Witoon Mimoon of Thailand stood second with 152kg and Toan was third with 151kg.

With a total of 279kg, Tuan completed his task with a third gold, although it was not as good as his previous score. Toan finished second and Mimoon third.

It is the first time a Vietnamese won in all three events of a category at the world tournament.

It is Tuan’s 10th world title, currently placing him third among the list of weightlifters who own the highest number of world gold medals in history. Wu Jingbiao and Long Qingquan of China are No. 1 and No. 2, with 12 medals each.

Tuan’s victory was partly due to the absence of powerful rivals from nine countries, including Russia, China, Turkey, Belarus and Ukraine, which were banned from the tournament because of doping problems, and athletes from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were not given visas to the United States.

In the 56kg class, there were 12 competitors.

However, it is the best ever result for Vietnam at a world-level competition.

Two months ago, Tuan lifted 282kg in total and won a gold at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan.

Earlier, he triumphed at the Malaysian Southeast Asian Games in August.-VNA 
VNA