Ilyin of Kazakhstan defends weightlifting gold

Breaks two world records in defending his gold medal from four years ago

I / London August 5, 2012, 10:43 IST

Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilyin nailed all six lifts, broke two world records and defended his weightlifting gold medal from four years ago.

Even more extraordinary: he made it look easy.

Most lifters in the 94-kilogram class paused for a few seconds as they gripped the bar, collecting themselves for the excruciating effort of lifting one-fourth of a ton over one's head.

Ilyin, 24, marched up to the bar with quick steps and hoisted it in the air so fast that by the time a "good lift" was announced he was already celebrating.

Buoyed by an ecstatic crowd inside the ExCeL center's weightlifting arena, the spiky-haired Kazakh lifted 185 kilograms in the snatch and a world-record 233 kilograms in the clean and jerk for a total of 418 kilograms. That was also a world record, a whopping 6 kilograms better than the pre-competition mark set in 1999.

"That's what I was aiming for and it's going to stay for a long time," said Ilyin, never short on self-esteem.

Silver medallist Alexandr Ivanov of Russia matched Ilyin in the snatch but was without chance in the clean and jerk, despite registering a total of 409 kilograms that exceeded Ilyin's Olympic record from 2008.

Anatoli Ciricu of Moldova took bronze, 2 kilograms behind Ivanov.

Ukraine's Artem Ivanov, second to Ilyin at last year's worlds, never showed up for the weigh in. He told Ukrainian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda he was injured three weeks before the Olympics.

After the medal ceremony, Ilyin said he has prepared for the Olympics with a special diet, including horse meat, a Kazakh delicacy.

"I try not to eat anything which is too fat, and I can't eat anything which is too sweet," Ilyin said. "I think chicken and horse meat are ideal food because it's because it's very easy to digest."