Pak Hyon Suk won North Korea's first gold medal in Beijing on Tuesday, taking the women's 63-kilogram weightlifting division on the last lift of the competition that equaled the Olympic record. It was North Korea's first women's weightlifting gold since Olympic competition began for women in 2000.
Pak risked being eliminated after dropping two clean and jerks at 135 kg (297.6 pounds), but nailed her final attempt to clinch the gold. Barely cracking a smile, the 23-year-old Pak seemed more relieved than happy after winning North Korth Korea's first gold in a competition where her countrymen had not lived up to expectations in other categories.
"I am overjoyed by the fact that I have brought joy to our dear general," a stone-faced Pak said through a translator, referring to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il. Pak had lifted 106 kg in the snatch and finished with a total of 241 kg (531.3 pounds), just 1 kg (2.2 pounds) ahead of silver medalist Irina Nekrassova of Kazakhstan.
Lu Ying-chi of Taiwan took the bronze with 231 kg (509.3 pounds). World champion and world record-holder Liu Haixia of China was not competing because the Olympic host chose to prioritize other weight categories.
Teams can compete with a maximum of four women in Olympic weightlifting. Svetlana Tsarukaeva of Russia was the favorite to win the event, but crashed out with three failed attempts to lift 107 kg (235.9 pounds) in the snatch.
Visibly shaken, she accidentally bumped her head into the wall as she left the platform in tears. That left Nekrassova in the lead after clearing 110 kg (242.5 pounds) in the snatch and Pak under pressure to catch up in the clean and jerk.
The North Korean boldly started the clean and jerk at the Olympic-record level of 135 kg (297.6 pounds), but the gamble almost resulted in her elimination. She failed her first two attempts, struggling to lock her arms with the bar overhead.
Weightlifters need to have at least one good attempt in both the snatch and the clean and jerk to get a total score. Pak coped with the pressure in her final attempt, wobbling slightly but firming up to lock her arms as the judges approved the lift.
"I failed the first and second attempt. However, when I was about to do my third attempt, I kept in my head the thought that my dear general's eyes will be upon me," Pak said.
"And that thought by itself was great encouragement, and that's how I managed to lift the last weight." Nekrassova was stunned by Pak's final lift and was still wiping away tears 20 minutes after the competition.
Asked if she had expected to win the gold, she said: "Absolutely." Pak's triumph broke North Korea's bad spell in the weightlifting competition.
O Jong Ae won the bronze in the women's 53-kg division on Monday but said she had underperformed and apologized for letting down the people of her nation. A day earlier, world champion Cha Kum Kol of North Korea managed only fifth place in the men's 56-kilogram category.
His teammate Ri Kyong Sok was eliminated after three failed attempts in the snatch.
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