Lesman Paredes created history on Tuesday night by winning Bahrain’s first-ever gold medal in the World Weightlifting Championships when he triumphed in the men’s 96kg event at the competition which is being held in the Colombian capital, Bogota.
Paredes, who had earlier represented Colombia, the country of his birth, with distinction in tournaments around the world and won gold at the 2021 world championships, became a Bahraini citizen just last July.
His top-of-the-podium finish marks the first time a Bahraini weightlifter has won any medal at the world championships.
Lesman lifted a total weight of 397kg, ahead of silver medallist Kazakhstan’s Nurgissa Adiletuly with a total of 383kg and Colombian Jhor Moreno, who won the bronze medal with a total of 380kg.
Organised by the International Weightlifting Federation, the competition is the first qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
This is Lesman’s second gold medal for Bahrain in the short time that he has been a citizen of the kingdom.
Last October, he won the 96kg snatch competition at the Asian Weightlifting Championships hosted by Bahrain.
The kingdom might yet see another of its athletes win a second gold medal at the competiton when Gor Minasyan competes in the over-109kg category tomorrow.
Armenia-born Minasyan, who, like Paredes, became a Bahraini citizen last July, also won a gold medal at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in October.
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