As expected, the German weightlifter Simon Brandhuber missed out on a medal at the World Championships in Saudi Arabia despite setting personal bests in the class up to 61 kg.
The 32-year-old reached 287 kg in a duel (133 in the snatch and 154 in the clean and jerk) and finished fourth in Group B, overall the European Championship runner-up in 2022 made it to 13th place. Previously, his duel record was 286 kg, in clean and jerk it was 152.
“Now I’m a real 61er. I feel good at this weight and know that I have more kilos in me,” said Brandhuber: “Unfortunately not everything was right, but I was at least able to show where the journey can go. I have the next opportunity at the European Championships next year and I hope that the knot bursts there. I suspect that a performance between 290 and 295 will be necessary for the Olympic qualification.” Gold went to Tokyo Olympic champion Li Fabin from China.
The World Cup in Riyadh serves as a location for the Olympic Games in 2024. Those who do not start in Saudi Arabia have no chance of a ticket for Paris. In addition to gold, silver and bronze, important points for the Olympic qualification ranking, which determines the participants for the summer games, are important.