Even though many would count the defending Olympic weightlifting champion, Russia's Andrei Chemerkin, as the favorite in Sydney, an earth-shaking battle is expected. Giving us a glimpse of what might happen, at last year's world championships two relatively unknown lifters ended up winning the silver and bronze medals in the total, and both appear to be on their way to posting big numbers at the Olympics. Qatar's Saeed Jaber, weighing a mere 119 kg, did 205/250 in Athens last year, and Iran's Hossein Rezazadeh, a full super at 147 kg bodyweight, did 206/242.5.

Recently, Jaber, who is coming off surgery, did 195/235, and Rezazadeh did 200/250, along with a whopping 267.5 clean.