RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Taking a 118-kilogram weight to the back of the head? Even that couldn’t stop China’s Xiang Yanmei from winning Olympic gold.
Xiang was already the favorite for gold in the women’s 69kg weightlifting class when she dropped the bar on her third attempt in the snatch, and it delivered a glancing blow to her head on the way down. That prompted fears weightlifting superpower China could see another surprise withdrawal in the middle of the competition after it lost world record holder Chen Lijun to a cramp in Monday’s men’s 62kg class.
Xiang briefly appeared dazed and admitted to some pain but was fully alert as she closed out China’s fourth weightlifting gold of the Rio Olympics with 116kg in the snatch and 145 in the clean and jerk for a total of 261.
“I got hurt a little bit and I feel hurt when I nod my head,” she said. “I didn’t think about it when lifting weights.”
Xiang said she had not seen a doctor.