Heavyweight (≤102 kg), Men

As with the light-heavyweight class, the men’s heavyweight had a slight change from Tokyo, with the competitor’s bodyweight moving down from 109 kg to 102 kg.

Akbar Djuraev of Uzbekistan was back in Paris to defend his Olympic title from the Tokyo Games. Djuraev was also the reigning World Champion in the 109 kg class. Simon Martirosyan of Armenia and Artūrs Plēsnieks of Latvia, who had won silver and bronze in Tokyo, respectively, were not in Paris, leaving the competition quite open. The clear challenger to Djuraev, however, was the current world record holder Liu Huanhua of China. The other favorites included the European Champion Yauhen Tsikhantsou of Belarus, who was competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN), and Fares Ibrahim El-Bakh of Qatar, who had previously won gold in Tokyo in the middle-heavyweight class.

In the snatch, Liu and Garik Karapetyan of Armenia had both lifted 186 kg with their third and final attempt, with Liu taking the lead due to a lighter bodyweight. Djuraev was just 1 kg behind, with his 185 kg lift on his second attempt. Any chances of a medal for El-Bakh, however, were over after the Qatari failed to make a valid lift, eliminating him from the competition. The clean & jerk was a tight affair when Liu lifted 220 kg to take the lead ahead of Djuraev and Tsikhantsou, who both lifted 219 kg. This was also the final medal order for the event, with Liu winning another weightlifting gold for the Chinese team, Djuraev taking silver, and Tsikhantsou finishing with bronze. Tsikhantsou’s bronze was one of five medals the AIN team won in Paris, along with gold and silver in gymnastics, and silvers in rowing and tennis.