Weightlifting at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's 61 kg
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The men's 61 kg weightlifting competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held on 7 August at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
| Men's 61 kg at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Line-up of athletes who participated in the competition | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Paris Expo Porte de Versailles | ||||||||||||
| Date | 7 August 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 12 from 12 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning total | 310 kg | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Going into the competition, Li Fabin of China was the favourite, while Sergio Massidda of Italy, clean and jerk world record holder Hampton Morris of the United States, and four-time Olympic medalist Eko Yuli Irawan of Indonesia were also among the top contenders. In the final, Li won gold, followed by Theerapong Silachai of Thailand with silver and Morris winning bronze. Li also set an Olympic record of 143 kilograms in the snatch. The best ever results in Olympic competition by Papua New Guinea and Kiribati were also set during the final.
Background
Li Fabin was the defending Olympic champion in the men's 61 kg;[1] he placed first at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships, the first eligible event during the qualification timeline, and broke the world record in the clean and jerk with 175 kilograms.[2][3] He placed first at the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships, defeating Chen Lijun who was the Olympic champion at the last Summer Games in the men's 67 kg event and was aiming to qualify for the 2024 Summer Games in the same category.[4]
Li placed first at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships, but was defeated by Hampton Morris in the clean and jerk.[5] The 2024 IWF World Cup was the last competition during the qualification period.[6] There, Li broke the snatch world record with 146 kilograms and placed first overall. Though, he would be defeated by four other athletes in the clean and jerk, three of which were eligible for the 2024 Summer Olympics: Morris, Theerapong Silachai, and John Ceniza.[7] Morris also broke the world record in the clean and jerk with 176 kilograms.[8]
Sports Illustrated predicted that Li would win, followed by Massidda in second and Morris in third.[9] Eko Yuli Irawan, a four-time Olympic medalist, was opined by Brian Oliver of the International Weightlifting Federation and Eric Goodman of NBC Olympics as another medal contender.[10][11]
Qualification
Qualification for every event had spots for at least twelve weightlifters coming from different National Olympic Committees (NOC). Qualification spots were eligible for the ten highest-ranked weightlifters in the IWF Olympic Qualification Ranking, the highest-ranked weightlifter representing an NOC whose continent lies outside the top ten (IWF Olympic Continental Qualification Ranking), the host nation's reserved entry and a universality place. If a spot was still available once every continent was represented in the top ten, the host nation did not send an entry, a universality place was not used, or any combination of the following, the quota place was allocated to the next highest-ranked eligible weightlifter.[6]
To be eligible for the event, all weightlifters must have competed at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, and in at least three qualifying tournaments. Apart from two compulsory events, the host country France and those eligible for universality places may have competed in a minimum of two qualifying tournaments.[6] For the men's 61 kg category, twelve athletes qualified for the event with the absence of a host nation entry.[12]
| Weightlifter | Country | Total (kg) | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Li Fabin |  China |
314 | Ranking |
| Hampton Morris |  United States |
303 | Ranking |
| Sergio Massidda |  Italy |
302 | Ranking |
| Eko Yuli Irawan |  Indonesia |
300 | Ranking |
| John Ceniza |  Philippines |
300 | Ranking |
| Theerapong Silachai |  Thailand |
299 | Ranking |
| Shota Mishvelidze |  Georgia |
298 | Ranking |
| Aniq Kasdan |  Malaysia |
296 | Ranking |
| Trịnh Văn Vinh |  Vietnam |
294 | Ranking |
| Ivan Dimov |  Bulgaria |
293 | Ranking |
| Morea Baru |  Papua New Guinea |
281 | Continental ranking |
| Kaimauri Erati |  Kiribati |
— | Universality place |
Records
The world records before the competition for the snatch and total was set by Li at the 2024 IWF World Cup and 2019 World Weightlifting Championships respectively, while the clean and jerk world record was set by Morris at the 2024 IWF World Cup.[13] The Olympic records for the clean and jerk and total was set by Li at the 2020 Summer Olympics though the Olympic Standard of 142 kilograms in the snatch was yet to be broken.[14]
| World Record | Snatch | Li Fabin (CHN) | 146 kg | Phuket, Thailand | 2 April 2024 | |
| Clean & Jerk | Hampton Morris (USA) | 176 kg | Phuket, Thailand | 2 April 2024 | ||
| Total | Li Fabin (CHN) | 318 kg | Pattaya, Thailand | 19 September 2019 | ||
| Olympic Record | Snatch | Olympic Standard | 142 kg | — | 1 November 2018 | |
| Clean & Jerk | Li Fabin (CHN) | 172 kg | Tokyo, Japan | 25 July 2021 | ||
| Total | Li Fabin (CHN) | 313 kg | Tokyo, Japan | 25 July 2021 | ||
Results
The event was held on 7 August, starting at 3:00 p.m., at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.[15] Four athletes were eliminated during the snatch portion of the event after failing all three of their attempts. These were, in order: Ceniza, Trịnh, Massidda, and Dimov. Erati had the lightest snatch of the event at 100 kilograms while Li set a new Olympic record with 143 kilograms; Silachai had the third-heaviest snatch at 132 kilograms while Irawan had the second-heaviest at 135 kilograms. Though, Irawan was eliminated during the clean and jerk portion after failing to lift all three of his attempts due to an injury.[16] Erati had the lighest clean and jerk of the event at 120 kilograms while Morris lifted 172 kilograms as the heaviest of the event; Li and Kasdan tied for the third-heaviest clean and jerk of the event at 167 kilograms while Silachai had the second-heaviest at 171 kilograms. Morris also attempted 178 kilograms for his third attempt in order to overtake Silachai but was unsuccessful. With a total of 310 kilograms, Li defended his Olympic title. Silachai and Morris placed second and third, respectively.[17] Baru and Erati also set the best ever results in Olympic competition by Papua New Guinea and Kiribati with fifth and seventh, respectively.[18][19][17]
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Snatch (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Result | 1 | 2 | 3 | Result | ||||
 | Li Fabin | China |
137 | 140 | 143 | 143 OR | 167 | 167 | 310 | ||
 | Theerapong Silachai | Thailand |
127 | 130 | 132 | 132 | 167 | 169 | 171 | 171 | 303 |
 | Hampton Morris | United States |
122 | 126 | 126 | 172 | 172 | 298 | |||
| 4 | Aniq Kasdan | Malaysia |
126 | 130 | 130 | 167 | 167 | 297 | |||
| 5 | Morea Baru | Papua New Guinea |
118 | 118 | 150 | 157 | 161 | 161 | 279 | ||
| 6 | Shota Mishvelidze | Georgia |
114 | 121 | 121 | 125 | 135 | 135 | 256 | ||
| 7 | Kaimauri Erati | Kiribati |
95 | 100 | 100 | 120 | 120 | 220 | |||
| — | Eko Yuli Irawan | Indonesia |
135 | 135 | — | DNF | |||||
| Ivan Dimov | Bulgaria |
— | — | — | — | — | DNF | ||||
| Sergio Massidda | Italy |
— | — | — | — | — | DNF | ||||
| Trịnh Văn Vinh | Vietnam |
— | — | — | — | — | DNF | ||||
| John Ceniza | Philippines |
— | — | — | — | — | DNF | ||||