IWF120y/41 – 2016: Lasha Talakhadze ascends to stardom
He is the most titled Olympic athlete in the history of Georgia and one of the very few lifters with three gold medals at the Games: Lasha Talakhadze is presently the brightest star of our Sport! His successful trajectory starts with his first world title, in 2015, in Houston (USA). Since that initial success, the Georgian ace (born in 1993) will never lose any major international competition in which he takes part. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, he gets his first title in the super-heavyweight category, with a 215-258-473 performance. At the Tokyo 2020ne rendezvous, he claims his best result so far at Olympic level, clinching gold in 223-265-488. Finally, in Paris 2024, his victory was achieved after a 215-255-470 outcome. In parallel, at the World Championships, he earned seven consecutive gold medals between 2015 and 2023, having skipped the 2024 edition in Manama (BRN). His best performance at the IWF showcase was achieved in 2021 in Tashkent (UZB), with 225-267-492, the current World Records in the heaviest category. These are also the best-ever results achieved in history (regardless of the changes in the bodyweight categories) for the Snatch, Clean & Jerk, and Total. At the continental level, he is also the absolute master between 2016 and 2023, with seven European titles. Throughout his amazing career, he has established 26 World Records so far. In his national team, Talakhadze is trained by Giorgi Asanidze, the only other lifter who won gold at Olympic level for Georgia (at the 2004 Games in Athens, in the 85kg category).