North Korea weightlifter sets three world records for Asian Games gold
Ri Song Gum, who stands a mere 140cm (4ft 7ins) tall, joined an elite club of just four weightlifters who have won three Asian Games golds.
In a stunning performance at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, North Korean weightlifter Ri Song Gum set three world records in the women's 49kg class. Standing at just 140cm tall, the 28-year-old Ri joined an elite group of only four weightlifters to achieve this remarkable feat. Ri's emotional triumph was met with cheers from the crowd, including a large number of Japanese fans supporting her.
The reigning two-time world champion broke the previous world records in the snatch and clean and jerk events, totaling 215kg. This victory marked Ri as the first woman to win three Asian Games weightlifting golds, joining the ranks of Iran's Mohammad Nassiri, South Korea's Kim Tae-hyun, and Iran's Behdad Salimi. North Korea had not qualified for the Olympics since 2021 due to Covid restrictions and a lack of qualifying athletes.
Despite not competing in the 49kg class at the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics, Ri expressed her willingness to move up to the 53kg category to chase Olympic gold.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 7 other outlets
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