Total gold medalist, snatch silver medalist, clean and jerk bronze medalist Mohamed Younes Elsayed Abdelrahman of Egypt reacts during the awarding ceremony for the men's 85kg event at the 2026 IWF World Championships in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Hou Zhaokang)
Ningbo: Mohamed Younes of Egypt secured the men's 85kg gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships on Monday, edging out Colombia's Yeison Lopez in a contest marked by 11 shattered world records.
Younes, 21, lifted 177kg in the snatch and 213kg in the clean and jerk for a winning total of 390kg, three kilograms ahead of Lopez, who took silver with 387kg. China's Lei Jiangqing claimed bronze with 382kg.
The competition featured five world records in the snatch, one in the clean and jerk and five in the total.
The snatch record changed hands five times as Younes, Lopez and Moldova's Marin Robu traded the lead. Younes set the first mark at 174kg before Lopez eventually secured snatch gold with a world-record lift of 178kg on his final attempt. Younes took silver with 177kg, while Robu claimed bronze.
The clean and jerk produced another world record as DPR Korea's Ro Kwang Ryol lifted 215kg, improving his previous mark by one kilogram. Ro then failed an attempt at 220kg but secured gold in the discipline ahead of Lei, who lifted 214kg, and Younes, who managed 213kg.
The battle for the overall title proved equally dramatic, with Younes and Lopez exchanging the world record five times.
Younes initially raised the mark to 381kg with a 204kg clean and jerk before Lopez responded with 383kg. The pair continued to trade the lead until Younes secured victory with a final lift that took his total to 390kg.
Lopez had one last chance to reclaim the lead, but failed his attempt at 213kg, which would have given him a winning total of 391kg.
"He was very happy to win the medal and he was trying to do his best, and he got the gold medal in the total," Younes' coach said. "This is just a start. We have a long time and a long way."
Lopez, a silver medalist at the 2024 Olympics, described the championships as "the first step on the road to the Olympic Games."
"The goal is to improve the total to win the gold," he said.
Lei, who recently moved up to the 85kg category, said the home crowd helped him overcome a shoulder injury sustained a week before the competition.
"Backstage I felt I could barely lift it, but competing at home is really different. Hearing the crowd cheer, I wanted to fight for them," Lei said.
The championships continue Tuesday with the women's 69kg competition.
