BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese strongman Long Qingquan lifted the gold medal of the men's 56kg category at the
Beijing Olympics Games here on Sunday.
This is the second gold medal for the Chinese weightlifting team at the Games after Chen Xinxia had claimed the title of women's 48kg class on Saturday.
"A new era begins." said International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) president Tamas Ajan, "A new generation is stepping on the stage. Yesterday a young girl won the gold medal, today a sweet little boy won again. This is a young generation, and a clean generation without any doping concern. This is the future for weightlifting. I am happy about that."
The baby-faced Long snatched 132kg and jerked 160kg for a winning total of 292kg. Vietnam's Hoang Anh Tuan took the silver at 290kg and Eko Yuli Irawan of Indonesia had the bronze at 288kg.
"I am satisfied with the results, I achieved my goal before the game, " said Long, "To tell the truth, I am a little bit nervous, but I tried not to think about it. I have confidence on myself and I focused on my lift. I didn't think about any pressure during the training before the Games."
"Except Cha Kum Chol of DPR Korea, I know little about other lifters, but I think this is not a bad thing, because I could pay all my attention to my own lift," added Long
The 18-year-old claimed 125kg in the snatch and went to 132kg after three lifts to list first place before the clean and jerk, which broke the former junior world records.
Hoang and Irawan finished with 130kg and posted a challenge to Long, while Yang Chin-yi of Chinese Taipei and Cha Kum Chol of DPR Korea remained in the competition with 128kg.
Beijing Olympics is the first international competition for Long as he entered the national team in the year of 2007, but the rookie stunned world champions Li Zheng in the national championships in April to make sure his seat in the China's Olympics squad.
He lifted 292kg, which was 5kg more than the best international competition result since 2006.
Long, who is believed as another talented player in the men's flyweight category, continued his leading with 155kg in the first lift. While Irawan and Hoang answered with 155kg, Long lifted 160kg in the second lift and stayed in the top.
Long Qingquan of China celebrates after taking a successful snatch lift at the men's 56kg final of weightlifting at
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 10, 2008. Long claimed title in this event.(Xinhua Photo)
