Middleweight (≤64 kilograms), Women

The middleweight class, now contested up to 64 kg after being held up to 63 kg from 2000-16, was the second women’s weightlifting event held on this day, and the fourth to be decided in Tokyo. There was no Chinese competitor taking part, as the 2016 Olympic gold medallist Deng Wei was not selected due to injury. This unspecified injury had prevented her from competing at the 2020 Asian Championships, held only a few months before the Olympics. She had dominated this weight class and had won the last two World Championships in 2018-19, the 2019 World Cup held in Fuzhou, and the Asian Championships in 2019, each time setting world records in snatch, clean & jerk, and total. Her latest world records were 117 kg in snatch, 145 kg in clean & jerk, and 261 kg in total. Due to Romania being suspended as a result of multiple doping offenses, Loredana Toma was also not competing in Tokyo. She had a season best 244 kg, and was the European champion in 2017 and 2018 in the 63 kg class and 2019 and 2020 (held in 2021) in the 64 kg class. She was also the 2017 world champion (63 kg) when China was banned. At the last two World championships, Toma finished third with Rim Un-Sim winning silver on both occasions, but as PRK decided not to send a team to the Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, none of the medallists from the last two World Championships competed in Tokyo. Consequently, Mercedes Pérez, qualification best 238 kg, who finished fourth at the last two World Championships, was one of the favourites, but she was beaten by Maude Charron, season best 240 kg, at the Pan American Championships just a few months before the Tokyo Games. Other fancied competitors were Sarah Davies, season best 230 kg and silver medallist at the last European Championships, Angie Paola Palacios, season best 229 kg, and Chen Wen-Huei, season best 228 kg and reigning Asian champion.

After the snatch element, Charron was in the lead with 105 kg followed by Palacios and Giorgia Bordignon with 104 kg each, with Chen lifting 103 kg, and Pérez 101 kg. Charron and Palacios both missed 108 kg in their last attempts and Pérez failed 105 kg with her final lift. The clean & jerk started with nine athletes separated by only 5 kg. When Palacios missed 127 kg in her last lift, five athletes were still fighting for the medals, but only Bordignon with 128 kg and Charron with 133 kg were able to set valid lifts. This gave Charron gold and Bordignon silver with Chen taking bronze. Bordignon enjoyed a perfect competition, setting personal bests in both variants of the lifts, and was the only athlete in this event who did not miss any of her six lifts, as she won the first ever Olympic weightlifting medal by an Italian female. Also competing in this event was Yasmin Zammit Stevens, the first ever Maltese female weightlifter.

The Olympic Standard for Olympic records was 108 kg for snatch, 134 kg for clean & jerk, and 242 kg for total, none of which were broken in Tokyo.