site.btaWeightlifter Karlos Nasar Wins Second Gold for Bulgaria at Olympics

Bulgarian weightlifter Karlos Nasar won the 89kg title in his Olympic debut at the Paris Games on Friday. This victory marked Bulgaria's second gold medal at the event. Tashkent 2021 world champion and two-time European champion Nasar set a world record in the combined lift, with a total of 404kg. He lifted 180kg, matching the International Weightlifting Federation's Olympic standard, and then 224kg in the clean and jerk, surpassing his own world record by 1kg. He surpassed the previous record of 396kg set by China's Li Daiyin in May 2023.

Nasar secured Bulgaria's first gold medal in weightlifting in 20 years, following Milen Dobrev's achievement in the 94kg category at the Athens 2004 Games. This victory also marked Bulgaria's second weightlifting medal in Paris, after Bozhidar Andreev earned a bronze in the 73kg category.

With caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) President Stefka Kostadinova, and former football star Hristo Stoichkov watching, the weightlifter won Bulgaria's sixth medal at the Games in Paris. Wrestler Semen Novikov won gold in the 87kg classic style category, while bronze medals were earned by taekwondo athlete Kimia Alizadeh in the 57kg category, weightlifter Bozhidar Andreev in the 73kg category, and 57kg boxer Javier Ibáñez. Wrestler Magomed Ramazanov secured at least a silver medal after qualifying for the 86kg freestyle final, set for Friday evening.

Final ranking for the men's 89kg weightlifting category:

1. Karlos Nasar (Bulgaria) – 404kg, a world record (180kg in the snatch, matching the Olympic standard, and world record with 224kg in the clean and jerk).
2. Yeison López (Colombia) – 390kg (180 and 210)
3. Antonino Pizzolato (Italy) – 384kg (172 and 212)