Valentin Hristov (Azerbaijan) looked more than good as he controlled the 62-kg category at the European Weightlifting Championships, finishing the night with all three gold medals.


Valentin Hristov pulls himself under 175 kg on his way to sweeping the gold medals in the 62-kg category at the 2013 European Weightlifting Championships.  IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen photo.


Wasting no time showing that he’s been on the rise since his bronze medal performance at the 2012 Olympics, Hristov, now a 62-kg competitor, started higher in the snatch than where he had ended in London: a success with 133 kg was followed by another with 137 kg, before he missed 140 kg. 

Romania’s Florin Croitoru and Moldavia’s Igor Bour weren’t planning to roll over and play dead in the face of Hristov’s big performance, though, as Croitoru made three good snatches to finish with 135 on the board, and Bour made 130 kg and then 134 kg, before missing 137 in a bid to wrest the snatch gold medal from Hristov.

Continuing to show his improvement since last year, Hristov cleaned and jerked 170 kg on his opener, for a new Junior European record and upped the ante with another success, 175 kg, on his second attempt.  With a successful 170-kg second attempt, Bour went for the gold medal in the clean and jerk, calling for 178 kg on his third attempt, but he missed the jerk.  Hristov passed on his third attempt, having already more than proving that he’s a lifter on the rise.
 

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