Lightweight (≤69 kilograms), Men

This category was left much more wide open with the recent retirement of China’s Liao Hui, the 2008 Olympic champion, and twice World champion; and the banning of Russia’s Oleg Chen, the three-time World silver medalist. That left the way for three men to seriously challenge for the podium places. One was the 2015, and reigning, World champion Shi Zhiyong of China. Another contender was the 2015 World bronze medalist and 2016 European champion Daniýar Ismaýilow of Turkey, and Kim Myong-Hyok of Korea, fourth at the 2012 Olympic Games, was the third man to be amongst the favourites for a medal. Based on being named the outstanding lifter at the 2016 Pan American Championships, where his total of 336 kg was more than Ismaýilow ‘s 333 kg winning lift at the European Championships, Bredni Roque, a former Cuban, competing for Mexico, was considered a serious outsider with a medal chance.

A lot of lifters were going bold with their starting weights in the snatch, which resulted in Ketut Ariana of Indonesia bombing out early. Kim, failed with all his clean and jerk attempts. Luís Javier Mosquera of Colombia took the lead with three lifters remaining, setting a new personal best at 155 kg, but Shi was on a mission, and Ismaýilow was not going to make it easy. After a 162 kg snatch, Shi clinched the gold medal with a 190 kg clean & jerk for a 352 kg total, holding off the challenge by Ismaýilow (formerly of Turkmenistan) who made six good lifts and lost the gold by just one kilo. Shi attempted an Olympic record in the clean & jerk, but was unsuccessful. With this Olympic win, Shi became an Olympic champion just like the man whose name he was given when he was a teenager. At that time, his coach, two-time Olympic champion Zhan Xugang, renamed him after the elder Shi Zhiyong, the 2004 Olympic champion and national hero.

Ismaýilow, who had finished 13th at the 2012 Olympic Games, took home the silver medal. Izzat Artykov who first entered international competition in 2010 in the lightest category (56 kg), and whose strength had improved enormously over the years, won the bronze medal with a 339 kg total. It was the first Olympic weightlifting medal for Kyrgyzstan, but he was subsequently disqualified after testing positive for strychnine. Mosquera was upgraded to bronze.