The evening of 2 November in Ningbo turned into a veritable hunt for world records: in the men's category up to 85 kg, they were broken a full 11 times in a single session. What began as an ordinary final quickly grew into a demonstration of just how low the bar has dropped since the introduction of the new weight categories.
Colombian Yeison López, Egyptian Abdelrahman Younes and North Korean Ro Kwang Ryol took turns raising the bar in the snatch, the clean and jerk and the total. López finished the snatch at 178 kg, Ro set a clean and jerk record of 215 kg, and Younes brought the total to 390 kg. Chinese athlete Lei Jiangqing, despite a shoulder injury, took silver in the clean and jerk (214 kg) and bronze in the total (382 kg).
The new categories introduced after 2018 noticeably lowered the previous benchmarks: the old records in the 85 kg class reached 187-220-396 kg, while the current starting standards were 171-208-374 kg. This created a "low entry threshold" effect, where every successful attempt immediately became historic.
Behind the dry numbers lies a change of generations and geography. Twenty-year-old Younes became the youngest world champion in the first seven days of the tournament and the first winner from outside Asia in the Olympic categories. López stated outright that all his training is subordinated to one goal — the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The Asian powers, traditionally dominant, are now forced to share the podium with athletes from Latin America and Africa.
Imagine a chess game in which the pieces suddenly became lighter: every move opens up new combinations, and those who previously fell short now win. That is exactly what today's weightlifting in the 85 kg class looks like — a sport where psychological resilience and the ability to take risks on the final attempts are valued no less than raw strength.
After the competition, Chinese athlete Lei Jiangqing admitted that the injury had hindered him, but that he had come to understand the level of his world rivals better and remained confident in the fight for future events. These are not just words: in conditions where records fall one after another, even bronze becomes a signal that the path to the top remains open.
One evening in Ningbo showed that the future of weightlifting lies in a broader geography and in young athletes for whom the new categories have become not a limitation but a springboard.
