'World records not enough': North Korea weightlifters target Olympic gold rush
North Korea has been the dominant force in global weightlifting since its self-imposed COVID-19 exile, setting six world record records at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.
North Korea has dominated global weightlifting since returning from COVID-19 isolation, setting six world records at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. The secretive nation's weightlifters will compete in the 2028 Olympics for the first time in 12 years, potentially facing an American gold rush. Since the Hangzhou Asian Games, North Korea has won six gold medals and seven world records at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan.
In the women's 49kg class, Ri Song Gum set three world records and will face competition from Kang Hyon Gong, who won the women's 53kg gold. Oh Kwang Ok then set three more world records to secure the women's 57kg gold. North Korea's success is attributed to their strategic allocation of limited resources to sports with controllable elements, such as strength and technique.
The regime has also made use of sporting success as a propaganda tool to spread narratives about the strength of socialist ideology.
Written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
