Who Is the Next Lasha Talakhadze? 

Lasha Talakhadze is commonly regarded as one of the best weightlifters of all time — he is unequivocally the strongest, having lifted more weight in the snatch and clean & jerk, the sport’s two competitive disciplines, than any human being living or dead.  The heaviest split jerk caught on camera is 270 kilograms. Talakhadze broke […]

Rizki Juniansyah Is the Second-Best Jerker in Weightlifting History

In April, Rizki Juniansyah made a big splash in the weightlifting world when he sniped one of Indonesia’s athlete slots from teammate Rahmat Erwin Abdullah. Juniansyah went on to win the 73-kilogram event at the 2024 Olympics.  It’s often said that performance in the clean & jerk, one of weightlifting’s two competitive disciplines, wins or […]

Italian Stallion: Antonino Pizzolato Smashes 180KG Snatch 

Antonino Pizzolato is, maybe, Italy’s best weightlifter. Italian weightlifters floundered at the 2024 Olympics in Paris after raising their profile throughout the pre-Games qualification period, but Pizzolato walked away with his second Olympic bronze medal in the 89-kilogram category by the skin of his teeth. On Oct. 23, 2024, Pizzolato blasted social media with a […]

World’s First Weightlifting Museum Opens in China

2024 has been a great year for weightlifting — there was a little event in Paris back in August called the Olympic Games, and before that, the IWF World Cup proved to be one of the most exhilarating competitions in recent memory. World Weightlifting Day, a celebration dedicated to honoring the athletes who compete in […]

Exclusive: Inside Team China’s Youth Weightlifting Industry

Back in June, Hillary Tran went a little bit viral. By posting an Instagram Reel — as of Oct. 2024, it’s up to 4.8 million hits — showing some of Team China’s youth athlete development camps in action, Tran pulled the curtain back and revealed the innards of the world’s most prolific, and perhaps secretive, […]

Tuna Meatballs for Breakfast: Olympic Champion Karlos Nasar’s Insane Weightlifting Diet

20-year-old Olympic Champion Karlos Nasar has an absolutely bonkers weightlifting diet. Nasar, who won gold for Bulgaria at the 2024 Olympics in the 89-kilogram division, takes every aspect of his training and recovery to the extreme. “American weightlifters would not last a week in Bulgaria,” Nasar joked of his training environment during a recent podcast […]