Zhan Xugang

	Zhan Xugang
	Personal information
Surname:	Zhan Xugang
Nationality:	People's Republic of China
Date of birth:	May 15, 1974
Place of birth:	Kaihua
Size:	170 cm
Medal table
Olympic games
World championships; duel
Tear
Bump

Zhan Xugang (born May 15, 1974 in Kaihua ) is a former Chinese weightlifter and two-time Olympic champion.

Career

Zhan had his first appearance at an international championship in 1993 at the Junior World Championships in Cheb , where he won gold in the lightweight up to 70 kg with a duel performance of 325.0 kg (145.0 / 180.0 kg). In 1994 he was able to repeat this at his second Junior World Championship in Jakarta with 327.5 kg (145.0 / 182.5 kg).

Also in 1994 he was accepted into the senior national team of China and had his first appearance at a world championship that same year. In Istanbul it failed three times due to its initial load in tearing of 145.0 kg and could only bring in its first attempt with 180.0 kg in pushing. At the World Championships the following year in Guangzhou he was able to take first place with 347.5 kg (157.5 / 190.0 kg) ahead of Fedail Guler with 345.0 kg and Ergun Batmaz with 340.0 kg. Zhan won silver in each of the individual disciplines.

He was able to increase this performance again at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and confidently secured the gold medal in a duel with 357.5 kg (162.5 / 195.0 kg). The runner-up Kim Myong-Nam Il lifted 12.5 kg less with 345.0 kg.

In 1997 Zhan started at the World Championships in Chiang Mai , where he again had difficulties with his initial load in the tear and was only able to bring in a valid 157.5 kg in the third attempt. In pushing he increased from 190.0 kg to a new world record from 195.5 to 197.5 kg, which would have meant duel gold, but which he failed. With 352.5 kg in a duel, he finished second behind Slatan Wanew , who lifted 355.0 kg.

With the change in weight classes, Zhan switched to middleweight in 1998, which now had a limit of 77 kg. At his first world championship in the new class in Lahti , Zhan failed in all three attempts to tear and was only able to cope with his initial load of 200.0 kg in the second attempt. He also failed to increase to 202.5 kg, which would have meant gold in pushing. Wanew was the winner with 365.0 kg. The 1998 Asian Games Zhan won with 355.0 kg (160.0 / 195.0 kg) ahead of Iranian Barkhah Mohammad Hossein and Kazakhs Sergei Filimonow .

Since most of the middleweights had already exhausted their weight limit at the 1999 World Championships in Athens , the performance density was higher than in 1998. Thus, Zhan's 365.0 kg (162.5 / 202.5 kg) were enough for fourth place this year. The three medal winners Badr Saelem Nayef , Viktor Mitrou and Plamen Jeliazkov each achieved 370.0 kg, only the body weight decided the placement.

In preparation for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney , Zhan won the Asian Championships of the same year in Osaka , where he sovereignly took first place with a duel result of 365.0 kg (165.0 / 200.0 kg) and even renounced his respective third attempts could. Filiminow was second with 362.5 kg.

Although he was only able to make his first attempt with 160.0 kg at the Olympic Games in snatch and failed twice at 165.0 kg, two valid attempts in jerking with 202.5 kg and 207.5 kg were enough to win his second Olympic gold medal. Zhan was able to do without the third attempt, since all medal candidates had already finished the jog after 202.5 kg and thus no longer had the opportunity to endanger his placement. The runner-up Mitrou also achieved 367.5 kg (165.0 / 202.5 kg), but was heavier.

After a break of several years from competition on the international stage, Zhan entered the world championship in Vancouver for the first time in 2003 . Here he could only bring in one valid attempt with 155.0 kg in the snatch and failed in the push three times at 195.0 kg, which left him unplaced. The winner was the Iranian Mejad with 357.5 kg.

The Asian Championships in the 2004 Olympic year in Almaty , Zhan finished third with 350.0 kg, behind Filiminow with 370.0 kg and his compatriot Li Hongli with 360.0 kg. Even so, Zhan was nominated instead of Li for the Athens Olympics. Here he failed three times due to his initial load in the snap of 157.5 kg and was therefore eliminated from the competition. This was Zhan's last competition.

Despite his 11-year international career and even though Zhan went into a large number of competitions as a co-favorite, he remained far below his potential in terms of success. This was mainly due to its inconsistency. He did not make a single valid attempt at four important international championships in one of the two sub-disciplines and, statistically speaking, failed almost every second time due to his entry load.

Zhan was able to set four world records in light weight and one world record in middle weight during his career .

Others

Zhan took part in a spot for the WildAid organization , which advocates the protection of tigers .

Personal best

Snatch: 165.0 kg in the up to 77 kg class at the 2000 Asian Championships in Osaka
Bump: 207.5 kg in the 77 kg class at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
Combat: 367.5 kg (160.0 / 207.5 kg) in the class up to 77 at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney

Individual evidence

↑ Zhan Xugang Zhan Xugang ( Memento from November 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed August 16, 2010)
↑ WildAid PSA - Zhan Xu Gang 占旭刚: Tigers (English Subtitled) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBf7i-My3GE (accessed on August 11, 2010)