BEIJING // Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand won the women's 53kg weightlifting category, setting an Olympic record in the process. The South Korean Yoon Jinhee finished in second place and Natassia Novikava of Belarus in third. Jaroenrattanatarakoon lifted a total of 221kgs, pulling off 95kgs in the snatch and an Olympic high score of 126kgs in the clean and jerk. Her total was 8kgs better than Yoon and Novikava. Yoon won silver because of a lower body weight. Melanie Roach of the USA set an American record with 193kgs, finishing in sixth place. The Thai lifter was tied with Novikava after the snatch, but clinched the win with her first clean and jerk at 120kg, a weight than no other was able to match. After setting the Olympic record in her second lift, she went for a world record clean and jerk in her third attempt. But the 126kgs was too much, and she gave up halfway through the lift, laughing. Weightlifting powerhouse China were not represented in the competition, even though it has several top-ranked women in the weight category, including world champion Li Ping, who holds the clean and jerk world record. With a limit of four women weightlifters, the Olympic hosts prioritised other divisions. On Saturday, Chen Xiexia won China's first gold medal of the Beijing Games in the women's 48kg category. Another dominant Chinese lifter, Chen Yangqing, is expected to defend her 2004 Olympic title in the women's 58kg tomorrow.
17-year-old Long Qingquan took China's second weightlifting gold today, winning the men's 56kg category by lifting 292kgs in his international debut. Hoang Anh Tuan of Vietnam finished second just 2kgs behind, with Indonesia's Eko Irawan grabbing the bronze. Backed by a chanting home crowd, Long lifted 132kgs in the snatch and 160kgs in the clean and jerk. He only failed one lift - his final clean and jerk at 164kgs when the gold was already in the bag. *AP