Karapetyan secures third European Weightlifting Championships crown in style

 

The 21-year-old edged out Luis Lauret Rodriguez by just one kilogram to claim gold at the European Weightlifting Championships in Georgia. The Armenian star secured his third senior title in a high-stakes battle that went down to the final lifts.

The men's 110 kg category was the only weight category in which medals were awarded on the seventh day of the competition. Four top athletes were among the gold medal contenders: double European champion Garik Karapetyan of Armenia; his teammate and double Olympic silver medallist, Simon Martirosyan; the returning European runner-up and former Pan American champion, Luis Lauret Rodriguez, who has represented Romania since 2024; and the 2022 European champion, Hristo Hristov of Bulgaria.

Karapetyan set the pace early on in the snatch discipline, successfully lifting a new European record on his final attempt. However, he was later surpassed by Hristov and Lauret, who lifted 190 kg. Lauret, a former Cuban athlete, went on to finish with 195 kg and win the gold medal. Hristov attempted to tie the world record of 196 kg with his last lift, but failed.

Martirosyan successfully lifted 183 kg in his second attempt at the snatch, but failed to lift 190 kg and remained in fourth place.

The competition reached fever pitch during the clean & jerk session, in which both Lauret and Hristov had two successful attempts but failed on their third. Lauret eventually finished with 219 kg, while Hristov finished with 222 kg. This enabled Karapetyan to win the gold medal in this discipline and take the lead in the overall standings when he successfully lifted 226 kg on his second attempt.

Khas Magomed Balaev (Individual Neutral Athletes) won the silver medal in the clean and jerk event with a lift of 225 kg, while Hristov took the bronze.

The final classification was settled by the finest of margins. Karapetyan's absolute total of 415 kg earned him a third consecutive European senior title, finishing just ahead of Lauret, who claimed the overall silver with 414 kg. Hristov's consistency across both lifts earned him the absolute bronze with a total of 412 kg.

Martirosyan, struggled to match the pace of the leaders. He successfully registered 215 kg on his first attempt, and tried to edge out Hristov for third place, but ultimately failed to lift the 230 kg bar, instead settling for sixth overall.

The competition concluded on Sunday, with the superheavyweight category lifters taking to the platform.