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Liu Huanhua

Liu at the 2024 Olympics
Personal information
Nickname	Gigachad
Nationality	Chinese
Born	(2001-08-20) 20 August 2001 (age 23) Jiahe County, Chenzhou, Hunan, China
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	101.84 kg (224.5 lb)
Sport
Country	China
Sport	Weightlifting
Event	–102 kg
Club	Tianjin Province
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	Snatch: 186 kg (2024) Clean & Jerk: 233 kg (2023, GR) Total: 418 kg (2023, GR)
Medal record Men's weightlifting Representing  China Olympic Games 2024 Paris 102 kg World Championships 2023 Riyadh 102 kg 2022 Bogotá 89 kg IWF World Cup 2024 Phuket 102 kg Asian Games 2022 Hangzhou 109 kg Asian Championships 2023 Jinju 96 kg National Games of China 2021 Shaanxi 81 kg

Liu Huanhua (Chinese: 刘焕华; pinyin: Liú Huànhuá; born 20 August 2001) is a Chinese weightlifter currently competing in the men's 102 kg category. He is also the current senior world record holder for both the clean and jerk and the total in his weight class.

Liu won a gold medal in the men's 102 kg category at the 2024 Summer Olympics by lifting total of 406 kg. He became the first male weightlifting Olympic champion from China that weighed more than 100 kg.

Career

Early career

Liu became involved in the sport of weightlifting in Chenzhou at the age of 13, where he was soon identified and drafted by the coach of the Tianjin weightlifting team.

His first recorded appearance was at the 2018 China Youth Championships, competing in the men's 77 kg class. He finished first in both the snatch and clean and jerk, winning a gold medal.

In 2021, Liu advanced to the men's 81 kg class at the 14th National Games of China held in Shaanxi. His performances resulted in a third-place finish overall.

2022-2023

The subsequent year saw Liu further increasing his weight class to the men's 89 kg, where he competed in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships held in Bogotá. He finished in sixth place in the snatch event and third in the clean and jerk, culminating in an overall bronze medal finish.

In 2023, Liu continued his upward trajectory in weight class, participating in the men's 96 kg category at the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju. His performances resulted with an overall first-place finish, earning him a gold medal. This was achieved through securing first place in the snatch and second place in the clean and jerk. Of note was his 89.48 kg bodyweight, which gave most of his competitors a body weight advantage.

Liu then made another jump in weight class for the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, moving into the men's 102 kg. He ranked fourth in the snatch and first in the clean and jerk, ultimately resulting in an overall gold medal and marking his first world championship victory.

Liu again, made another jump in weight class for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, moving up to the men's 109 kg category. He ranked second in the snatch and first in the clean and jerk, getting a gold medal in the total. He weighed in at 100.8 kg making him eligible to compete in the 102 kg class but the Asian Games used the former Summer Olympic categories, thus forcing him to move up to a class in to the 109's. His lifts of 233 kg in the clean & jerk and 418 kg in the total would break the world standards and would set new world records but since he competed in the 109's his records would not be recorded in the 102's.

Major results

Year	Venue	Weight	Snatch (kg)				Clean & Jerk (kg)				Total	Rank
			1	2	3	Rank	1	2	3	Rank
Olympic Games
2024	Paris, France	102 kg	178	183	186	—	220	228	233	—	406
World Championships
2022	Bogotá, Colombia	89 kg	160	166	171	6	205	211	215		381
2023	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	102 kg	171	176	180	4	215	221	224		404
IWF World Cup
2024	Phuket, Thailand	102 kg	175	181	186	5	220	225	232 CWR		413 CWR
IWF Grand Prix
2023	Doha, Qatar	102 kg	170	176	176	4	210	222	225		398
Asian Games
2023	Hangzhou, China	109 kg	175	180	185	—	215	227	233	—	418
Asian Championships
2023	Jinju, South Korea	96 kg	170	170	175		210	223	223		385

References

1. Winter, Gregor (23 July 2023). "Team China ft Tian Tao, Li Dayin, Liu "Gigachad" Huanhua 2023 Asian Championships". All Things Gym. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
2. "举重亚锦赛 天津选手刘焕华夺冠" [Tianjin's Liu Huanhua wins Asian Weightlifting Championships]. ty.tj.gov.cn (in Chinese). 12 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
3. "Results by events - 2023 Asian Championships". iwf.sport. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
4. "Paris, Men 102kg: Liu Huanhua gets through weight-gain 'torture' to win landmark gold for China". International Weightlifting Federation. 2024-08-10. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
5. "带伤为天津拼下铜牌 刘焕华：目标超越"军哥"" [Injured and won the bronze medal for Tianjin Liu Huanhua: The goal is to surpass "Brother Jun"]. tj.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 14 August 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
6. "China Youth Championship, 2018-03-10 浙江-海宁 Zhejiang - Haining (CHN)". iwrp.net. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
7. "举重全锦赛男子81公斤级 湖北队向飞洋夺双金" [Hubei team Xiang Feiyang wins double gold in men's 81kg weightlifting championship]. sports.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 18 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
8. "2022 IWF World Weightlifting Championships Full Results & Highlights". barbend.com. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
9. "Jinju, Day 7: Good day for hosts Korea and China wins again at Asian Championships". iwf.sport. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
10. "Results by Events - International Weightlifting Federation". iwf.sport. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
11. Berkeley, Geoff (6 October 2023). "China's Liu beats Olympic weightlifting champion in sensational finish". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 8 October 2023.

External links

• Liu Huanhua at the International Weightlifting Federation
• Liu Huanhua at Olympics.com

• 2001 births
• Living people
• Chinese male weightlifters
• World Weightlifting Championships medalists
• 21st-century Chinese sportsmen
• Weightlifters at the 2024 Summer Olympics
• Olympic weightlifters for China
• Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
• Olympic medalists in weightlifting
• Olympic gold medalists for China
• Asian Games gold medalists for China
• Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games
• Weightlifters at the 2022 Asian Games
• Asian Games medalists in weightlifting