2025 European Weightlifting Championships Results & Recap

Below are the Women's podium results and a brief recap of the finale in Group A. We'll update each category moments after the final barbell hits the floor.

Editor's Note: The notation below reads as "Athlete (Country): Total (Snatch / Clean & Jerk)."

45KG

1. Cansu Bektas (TUR): 166 (76/90)

2. Marta Garcia Rincon (ESP): 164 (77/87)

3. Gamze Altun (TUR): 161 (68/93)
   

Recap

The 2025 European Weightlifting Championships kicked off with record-breaking performances in the women’s 45KG category. However, a backroom miscommunication nearly cost Moldovan Ecaterina Grabucea her second snatch attempt, but she rushed onstage with under five seconds left and successfully lifted 62 kilograms.

Moldova’s Gabriela Danilov, also competing on her home turf, set a European Youth snatch record with 69 kilograms on her third attempt, finishing fourth in the snatch.

Spain’s Marta Garcia Rincon won the snatches with 77 kilos, setting a European U23 record as well. Veteran and 2024 World Champion Cansu Bektas of Turkey, described as “aggressive and confident” by commentators Seb Ostrowicz and Sergei Putsoff, placed a narrow second.

Tragedy struck Grabucea in the clean & jerks; after passing out on her second attempt causing a technical stop, she returned to make her final clean & jerk at 84 kilograms. The lift was ultimately overturned by the jury, prompting tears from Grabucea and jeers from the audience.

Danilov set a European Youth record in the total with her 81-kilogram second jerk, but missed her final attempt. Snatch leader Garcia Rincon almost bombed out, but collected her wits just in time to make her last jerk at 87 after following herself twice.

Teammates Bektas and Gamze Altun were the final two athletes in the field, both missed their clean & jerk openers. But Bektas’ lead in the snatch, 76 to 68, sealed the deal on her third European title.

49KG

1. Mihaela Cambei (ROU): 190 (85/105)

2. Lucia Gonzalez (ESP): 173 (77/96)

3. Radmila Zagorac (SRB): 169 (74/95)

Recap

The Women’s 49KG started fast as Oliwia Drzazga of Poland went three-for-three and was the first to finish her snatches with 67 kilograms. Radmila Zagorac of Serbia opened successfully with a one-kilo personal best in the snatch at 71.

Athletes were stonewalled at the 73-kilogram mark; Spain’s Sira Armengou Castell bombed, teammate Lucia Gonzalez followed and missed her opener at 74, and Turkey’s Duygu Alici clarked 74 on her second attempt and missed it on her third. Zagorac broke through, making 74 for her second snatch.

Greece's Maria Stratoudaki snatched 75 on her third attempt. Zagorac flopped on her third attempt at 76, while Borrego nearly walked off the platform saving her third at 77.

Romania’s two athletes, Adriana Pana and Mihaela Cambei, both surprised. Pana went two-for-three, finishing at 76, while session favorite Cambei missed her first two snatches and narrowly saved 85 kilos to close the snatch portion.

Bulgaria’s Ivana Petrova kicked off the clean & jerks with a comfortable 83 kilograms, but she would miss her subsequent two lifts at 86. Pana emerged for an effortless opener at 91; commentators called it “one of the easiest-looking jerks you’ll ever see.”

The stronger half of the field jockeyed each other between 92 and 95 kilos. Several backroom adjustments in a row brought out Drzazga’s after a brief delay, who smoked her second clean & jerk at 94 — as high as she’d go. “Everyone knows Mihaela is coming, so they’re posturing for silver,” Ostrowicz remarked of the dwindling field.

Pana lacked for leg strength on her second clean & jerk, then for overhead stability on her third, failing 95 kilograms both times, prohibiting her from podium contention in the total.

Cambei dropped her clean & jerk opener to 97, and was seen venting to her coaches between lifts. She made light work of 100 and 105 to finish the day, posting her lightest total since 2022.

55KG

1. Garance Rigaud (FRA): 205 (92/113)
2. Aleksandra Grigoryan (ARM): 202 (85/117)
3. Olha Ivzhenko (UKR): 201 (93/108)

Recap

Norway’s Sol Waaler bombed out early in the session at 81 kilograms, kicking off a five-miss streak between 81 and 84 kilograms that shuffled the backroom until Turkey’s Burcu Alici broke through with a good second attempt.

Four athletes clustered at the 85-kilogram mark for their openers, including reigning European Champion Aleksandra Grigoryan of Armenia, who, despite her 90% make rate for openers, missed her first lift.

Italy’s Ludovica Delia made light work of her 87-kilogram opener — Grigoryan followed, but missed at 90, putting her on the back foot heading into the clean & jerks. Delia showed a lot of passion setting up for her 92-kilogram third attempt, but backed off the bar and retreated from the stage , forfeiting a lift that, if successful, would have guaranteed her a medal.

Three athletes — Armenia’s Izabella Yaylyan, France’s Garance Rigaud, and snatch gold medalist at 93 kilograms Olha Ivzhenko — went three-for-three on the day.

A series of missed lifts and technical stops characterized the first half of the clean & jerks. Alici, on the ropes, narrowly made 100 kilograms to close her campaign after two misses. Waaler didn’t fare in the clean & jerks, making only one lift at 101.

Delia missed her opener at 110, then stormed off stage in anger after her second jerk at 111, frustrated at not being given the down signal quickly enough. Rigaud logged the session’s first six-for-six performance, putting Delia at risk.

Grigoryan took her first lift, 117, and comfortably power jerked it. This forced Delia to take the same weight to get back onto the podium — she caught the clean, but couldn’t stand it up. Delia finished fourth overall and bagged bronze in the clean & jerk.

Grigoryan took two attempts at 121 kilograms, a Junior world record, to move from silver to gold but missed it twice.

59KG

1. Andreea Cotruta (ROU): 208 (94/114)
2. Nina Sterckx (BEL): 207 (94/113)
3. Rebeka Koha (LAT): 206 (94/113)

Recap

Ten straight made lifts kicked off the Women’s 59-kilogram snatches on a high note. Latvia’s Rebeka Ibrahima , formerly Koha, returned to the international stage after a long hiatus to make all three of her snatches at 88, 91, and 93 with her iconic technique.

Italy’s Greta Di Riso missed her third snatch at 91 kilograms after making her first two. Finnish athlete Saara Retulainen exited the stage in heartbreak after bombing in the snatch at 92 kilograms.

Final opener and two-time Olympian Nina Sterckx of Belgium followed with a wobbly make at 94 — enough for gold and her first international lift since bombing out in the snatch in Paris last summer. Sterckx missed her second and third lifts.

Three athletes, Maria Kardara of Greece, Andreea Cotruta of Romania, and independent Katsiaryna Yakushava , all clarked one of their snatches on stage in quick succession.

France’s Maelyn Michel was on the ropes with two missed jerks at 106 but got it together on her last lift and was carried off stage by her coach with happy tears in her eyes. Kardara found her footing after some hesitation in the first half, making all three of her clean & jerks look comfortable.

Cotruta, Sterckx, and Ibrahima shuffled each other in the backroom until Sterckx eventually appeared for first crack at 113; a tough clean and an undeniable jerk. Plenty of yelling characterized Di Riso’s final attempt at the same weight, but she couldn’t drive the bar high enough with her push jerk.

Ibrahima became the only athlete to go six-for-six with 105, 108, and 113 on her clean & jerks.

After bombing out in the snatch, Retulainen did a "miracle" and drew raucous applause making her final jerk at 115 after missing the first two; walking away with a gold medal after a one-for-six day.

Sterckx and Cotruta, separated by a kilogram in the total, went head to head to close out the session. After Sterckx missed 117 on her second lift, the competition ground to a halt due to unknown backroom complications.

After some delay, Sterckx declared 120 to buy time and force Cotruta out, who walked 118 off the edge of the platform.

Cotruta still being one kilo up in the total called Sterckx's bluff by bumping up to 120, forcing Sterckx out — she missed.

Having won the European Weightlifting Championships, Cotruta tried her own 120 and missed. She walked off stage livid.

64KG

1. Sarah Davies (GBR): 223 (96/127)
2. Aysel Ozkan (TUR): 222 (100/122)
3. Svitlana Moskvina (UKR): 221 (100/121)

Recap

Midway through the snatches, competition officials stopped the session to overturn a three-white-light, 95-kilogram snatch by Bulgaria’s Galya Shatova — drawing boos from the Bulgarians in the crowd. She lost her third attempt at 97 in front.

Team Italy’s Martina Chiacchio missed two snatches. Italian coaches bid the officials to change their ruling for her 99-kilogram third attempt, but there was undeniable movement in her elbow and shoulder.

Turkey and Ukraine took the final two attempts for gold; Aysel Ozkan and Svitlana Moskvina both missed — they took gold and silver, respectfully with 100 each, while independent Group B athlete Dziyana Maiseyevich snuck bronze with 99.

Czech Patricia Jezkova went running offstage and leapt into her coach’s arms to celebrate her final clean & jerk at 113. Chiacchio missed all three of her jerks, finishing with one good lift out of six.

Sarah Davies of Great Britain came back from behind on her second clean & jerk at 125 to get into bronze after placing sixth in the snatches, and then 127 on the last lift of the session — she made it, becoming European Champion for the first time in her career after 28 international appearances and 11 years on stage.

71KG

1. Eyglo Fanndal Sturludottir (ISL): 244 (109/135)
2. Zarina Gusalova (AIN): 241 (110/131)
3. Siuzanna Valodzka (AIN): 236 (102/134)

Recap

Great Britain’s Erin Barton started the 71-kilogram event with a snatch miss at 91 kilograms, which she redeemed on attempts two and three, finishing with a yell and a smile at 94. Independent athlete Siuzanna Valodska missed her 101-kilogram opener twice; her lightest first snatches since 2019. She managed to save 102 on her third attempt to stay in the game.

Iceland’s Eyglo Fanndal Sturludottir made her 103-kilogram opener look like a warm-up, while independent and relatively unknown athlete Zarina Gusalova smoked the heaviest opener of the session at 105. Finland’s Janette Ylisoini hit a two-kilo international best on her third lift at 107, the first three-make performance of the day.

Gusalova guaranteed a medal by diving under 108 on her second lift, also marking the 10th good lift in a row among the four leaders fighting for medals. Sturludottir evicted Ylisoini from the snatch medals with her 109-kilogram third attempt, while Gusalova closed things out with by very, very narrowly saving 110 for gold.

Spain’s Garoa Martinez Anasagasti broke an 18-lift make streak in the clean & jerks on her second attempt, missing 122 twice in a row. Snatch leader Gusalova came out for a comfortable opener at 127, with Sturludottir following at 129 to inch past Gusalova in the total.

Ylisoini received rowdy applause on her third attempt after stumbling on her second attempt miss at 130, but couldn’t secure the split jerk. She left the stage waving to the crowd.

Sturludottir battled independent athletes Gusalova and Valodzka for the top of the podium. 133 went up on Sturludottir’s second attempt; Gusalova missed 134, guaranteeing Sturludottir the win as Valodzka was too far behind in the snatch — Sturludottir took the final attempt, making 135 to bag clean & jerk gold and go six-for-six en route to a historic finish for Iceland.

Giulia Miserendino of Team Italy was listed on the start book with a 225-kilogram entry total, but did not appear in this event.

76KG

1. Genna Toko Kegne (ITA): 233 (100/133)
2. Anna Amroyan (ARM): 231 (100/131)
3. Celia Gold (ISR): 230 (100/130)

Recap

Of the 11 women performing in the 76-kilogram category, only one missed their snatch opener, heralding a tight and competitive session. Poland’s Monika Marach was one of many to miss their second or third attempts (Marach was seen clutching her wrist as she left the stage) as the bar inched from 100 to 105, while Ukraine’s Iryna Dombrovska, and Bulgaria’s Maria Kireva emerged as likely medalists.

Italy’s Genna Toko Kegne made only her opener, setting the reigning European Champion behind in the second half. Dombrovska showed airtight discipline, going three-for-three and finishing with silver after Kireva snuck in front with 106. The bronze snatch medal went to Group B athlete Isabella Brown of Great Britain, as she was the first in the category to lift 100 kilograms.

Snatch gold medalist Kireva was the first on stage for the clean & jerks, opening at 117. After making a single clean & jerk at 118, Marach withdrew due to her wrist injury. Dombrovska missed her final clean & jerk at 127 leaving an opening for several athletes to leapfrog her onto the podium as she landed in fourth place overall by a single kilo.

Armenia’s Milena Khachatryan was the first to leap past and make 131 on her final jerk; enough for silver in the clean & jerks, but her 95-kilogram snatch would ultimately land her in sixth place overall.

Israel’s Celia Gold, like the other two podium athletes, snatched 100 kilos and made bronze off the back of her jerk strength, while Khachatryan's colleague Anna Amroyan would be the final lifter to bag 131, ultimately putting her onto the podium in lieu of her teammate.

while Toko Kegne took the last attempt of the session at 133 and made it look like pounds, not kilos, to win it all.

81KG

1. Elena Erighina (MDA): 242 (106/136)
2. Ilke Lagrou (BEL): 238 (104/134)
3. Weronika Zielinska (POL): 237 (105/132)

Recap

Dilara Narin of Turkey was the only athlete in the field to struggle early in the session, unfortunately missing all three of her snatches. Poland’s Weronika Zielinska had “the save of the competition,” said commentator Seb Ostrowicz, on her snatch opener at 102, coming onto her toes, then staggering her squat stance before stabilizing the bar and standing up.

After missing her opener at 102, Moldova’s Elena Erighina tightened things up to hit 103 and 106, which would be enough for gold. Poland’s Weronika Zielinska, who won this category last year, tried 107 to overtake Erighina, as did independent Mariia Gruzdova, but neither were successful on their final attempts.

Belgium’s Ilke Lagrou and Lithuania’s Ginfare Brazaite were the only athletes to go three-for-three, while Great Britain’s Katrina Feklistova snuck onto the snatch podium in third place by hitting 105 before Zielinska.

2024 bronze medalist Narin withdrew from the competition after bombing out in the snatches. Independent Gruzdova busted out a pristine power jerk on her 127-kilogram opener, a rarity for an athlete of her height. Zielinska forfeited her second European title by missing her final jerk at 136, leaving the top of the podium for Erighina, who extended her lead on her final lift at the same weight.

87KG

1. Solfrid Koanda (NOR): 267 (122/145)
2. Liana Gyurjyan (ARM): 246 (106/140)
3. Anastasiia Manievska (UKR): 235 (103/130)

Recap

The snatches kicked off with Austria’s Sarah Fischer bombing out at 95 kilograms, while independent Darya Kheidzer and Turkey’s Tuana Suren fared poorly and only made 100-kilogram openers as well.

A pair of three-for-threes whitened the middle of the session from the two Armenian athletes Liana Gyurjyan and Tatev Hakobyan, who finished with 106 and 110 respectively — the latter would finish in second place. The bronze snatch medal would end up with Group B athlete Anne Jensen of Denmark, who made 109.

Great Britain’s Madias Ngake had bad luck in the second half, bombing out at 112 as the second-heaviest athlete to open. Solfrid Koanda of Norway and reigning Olympic Champion had a highly unusual miss at her 117-kilogram opener; the bar was either too light or she pulled too hard, falling into a full-kneeling position while still holding it overhead. She “struggled” similarly on her final lift at 122, but held it together and left the stage laughing.

Commentators Seb Ostrowicz and Sergei Putsoff remarked on the “vicious” jury decisions in the clean & jerks as multiple athletes had attempts denied. Despite a surplus of strength and patience — she waited more than 10 seconds between her dip and drive — Ngake couldn’t secure her second or third jerks and was only credited with her opener at 130, which was enough for bronze in the clean & jerks.

Koanda wasn’t the first woman to break the 140-kilogram barrier; that honor went to Gyurjyan who finished there in commanding fashion. Koanda came out for 145, winning her fourth European title with her opening lift. She declined her second and third attempts.

+87KG

1. Emily Campbell (GBR): 281 (120/161)
2. Kiara Klug (GER): 242 (111/131)
3. Valentyna Kisil (UKR): 237 (110/127)

Recap

The final Women’s snatch session of the European Weightlifting Championships started nice and easy with seven good lifts in a row. The streak ended with Julieta Avanesyan of Armenia missing her 91-kilogram third attempt and rolling her ankle as she dumped out of the squat.

Great Britain’s Mercy Brown made 104 to set things off for the four athletes crowding around the snatch podium. Brown made a big jump for a guaranteed medal at 111, but missed, leaving opportunities for silver and bronze to Germany’s Kiara Klug and Ukrainian Valentyna Kisil.

Great Britain’s Emily Campbell followed herself for all three snatches at 112, 116, and 120. She was one of five athletes — including Klug, Kisil, Armenia’s Meri Tumasyan, and Moldova’s Anastasia Cilcic — to go three-for-three.

A streak of eight good lifts to start the clean & jerks was broken by Bulgaria’s Dzhesika Ivanova who missed her third jerk at 120 kilograms. Moments later, the competition was paused as the officials handled an unspecified technical difficulty caused by Brown withdrawing from the event.

Avenasyan, who injured her ankle in the snatches, withdrew shortly after as well. Klug missed 133 on her final jerk but had still guaranteed a silver medal in her Senior debut, bringing out Campbell to take all three of her own lifts.

Campbell smoked 150 to become the first five-time Women’s European Champion in history. She then took 156 and 161 to close out the Women’s events at the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships with a six-for-six performance.

Elsewhere: 2025 Junior Pan-American Weightlifting Championships Results

Here are the Men's podium results and a brief recap of the finale in Group A. We'll update each category moments after the final barbell hits the floor.

Editor's Note: The notation below reads as "Athlete (Country): Total (Snatch / Clean & Jerk)."

55KG

1. Angel Rusev (BUL): 246 (105/141)

2. Danu Secrieru (MDA): 245 (110/135)

3. Ramini Shamilishvili (GEO): 243 (109/134)

Recap

The Men’s 55KG category boasted some of the most competitive lifting yet — save for Bulgaria’s Angel Rusev, all athletes entered with a total between 240 and 250 kilograms. Romania’s Narcis Papolti started the day with a good snatch at 100 kilos.

7 out of 10 athletes opened between 100 and 105 kilos. On his second attempt, Rusev received several “no lift” calls as he spun on the platform with 110 kilograms overhead. Afterward, Romania’s Marian Luca, Harun Algul of Turkey, and Moldova’s Danu Secrieru were among the athletes to make a streak of good lifts at the 110-kilogram mark.

Algul celebrated in tears after making his third snatch at 112; prior to this European Weightlifting Championships, he’d only managed 104 kilograms internationally. He walked away with gold after teammate Muammer Sahin missed 113.

The snatch portion closed with the bar having moved only 12 kilograms from start to finish. Deniz Danev of Bulgaria, along with Secrieru and Algul, went three-for-three.

Snatch leader Algul appeared early in the clean & jerks at 125. Luca’s miss at 127 marked the first miss of the session’s back half after seven good lifts in a row. Turkey’s Sahin withdrew and was credited only with his 120-kilogram opener.

The crowd applauded after Luca’s 132-kilogram third attempt prompted an extensive jury review, which was ultimately upheld as a good lift. Georgia’s Ramini Shamishvili had a truly extraordinary make at 134, nearly pausing in the bottom of his jerk dip and holding the bar overhead for almost five seconds before being given the down signal.

Rusev bagged his fifth European Weightlifting Championships win after the rest of the field had finished with his 141-kilogram opener. Secrieru, the only Youth athlete in the field, made the Senior podium, indicating a bright future for Moldova in this category.

61KG

1. Ivan Dimov (BUL): 289 (135/154)
2. Goderzi Berderlidze (GEO): 276 (123/153)
3. Garnik Cholakyan (ARM): 275 (124/151)

Recap

Ukraine’s Andrii Revko kicked off the Men’s 61-kilogram snatches with a pristine make at 113 kilograms. Serbia’s Stevan Vladisavljev was seen on stage with his AirPods in, missing his second attempt at 120; Moldova’s hometown Ion Badanev followed with a commanding lift, drawing cheers from the audience.

His teammate Daniel Lungu brought the house down by saving his 122-kilogram third attempt snatch after missing it twice in a row. Badanev made 123 on his final lift, pulling more applause.

Bulgaria’s Ivan Dimov told us he felt good heading into this competition, and he showed it with a successful opener at 128 kilograms; the heaviest opener of the session. He followed himself twice with 131 and 135, putting himself in a commanding position heading into the jerks.

Despite sliding his grip out a full hand-width, Lungu struggled on the clean & jerks, as did Georgia’s Goderdzi Berdelidze , who missed his second and third attempts at 126 kilograms. While Lungu, again, pulled himself back from the brink to make his final jerk.

Vladisavljev made the biggest jump of the day, 8 kilos, to 145 on his final attempt but was unsuccessful. The field then dwindled rapidly as most athletes closed out their days on stage, leaving Badanev, Berdelidze, and Armenia’s Garnik Cholakyan to contend with leader Dimov.

Dimov RSVP’d “yes” to the podium with an effortless-looking 150-kilogram opener. Georgia and Armenia traded blows until Badanev took back-to-back attempts at 152 and set the stadium on fire by making the lift on his third attempt.

On his second attempt at 154 kilograms, Dimov moved from fourth to first in the jerk and confirmed his European title.

67KG

1. Kaan Kahriman (TUR): 316 (146/170)
2. Isa Rustamov (AZE): 308 (138/170)
3. Ferdi Hardal (TUR): 305 (140/165)

Recap

Moldova’s Gabriel Danilov started day three of the European Weightlifting Championships with a snatch make at 114 kilograms, kicking off a seven-lift streak not broken until Danilov’s third attempt at 123.

The three leaders emerged as the field dwindled. Turkey’s Ferdi Hardal smashed his 137-kilogram opener; Azerbaijan’s Isa Rustamov wobbled, but made 138; leading entrant Kaan Kahriman of Turkey bumped his opener to 142; Hardal managed 140, but Rustamov missed 141.

Kahriman rocked back hard on his opener at 142 kilograms, but saved the lift. Hardal nearly had the same weight, but howled and marched off stage clutching his elbow — Rustamov tried it too and missed it in front. Kahriman made 146, then missed 151 on his final attempt.

Dimitris Minasidis of Cyprus debuted an Aukhadov-inspired squat jerk during the second half of the competition, drawing “ooh”s from commentators Seb Ostrowicz and Sergei Putsoff. Bulgaria’s Zdravko Pelovski logged the first six-for-six day, finishing with a 282-kilogram total.

The snatch leaders also appeared last in the clean & jerks, along with Georgia’s Gurami Giorbelidze who missed 166 and appeared to have injured himself as the barbell fell on his upper back. After squeezing the clock as long as possible, he returned to try again, but missed.

Kahriman made his first two jerks at 165 and 170, but missed 173. The last lift belonged to Rustamov, who leapt to 179 from 170 to steal the gold from Kahriman; he cleaned it, but failed to recover.

73KG

1. Yusuf Genc (TUR): 348 (154/194)
2. Gor Sahakyan (ARM): 338 (153/185)
3. Roberto Gutu (GER): 335 (155/180)

Recap

Too few athletes signed up to merit additional sessions in the Men’s 73s, so the event began with a large spread in opening attempts ranging from 100 to about 150 kilograms. Spain’s David Sanchez Lopez, recovering from injury, opened conservatively at 132 and clarked his third snatch at 140 kilograms.

Turkey’s Muhammed Furkan Ozbek appeared before teammate Yusuf Genc to open at 147, but missed 147 twice, and then bombed out at 148. Genc, by contrast, 147, 151, and a new international best at 154 look easy.

Germany’s Roberto Gutu and Armenia’s Gor Sahakyan snuck past Genc to round out the snatch medals; Sahakyan attempted a 10-kilogram international best at 156, but missed, leaving Gutu with the final attempt at 157 for gold — he clarked it, and would do the same on his final clean & jerk.

Albania’s Arberi Gerciz awed the crowd with gutsy lifts, including a deep and grindy squat jerk at 172 kilograms. Romania’s Tiberiu Donose maxed out his walking lunge to save his 178-kilogram final attempt.

Despite bombing in the snatch, Ozbek appeared in the second half to jerk 186, 192, and tried 195. He walked away with silver in the clean & jerk. Genc, at 194, set multiple European records . He tried 195, but clarked it.

81KG

1. Oscar Reyes Martinez (ITA): 349 (159/190)
2. Rafik Harutyunyan (ARM): 343 (158/185)
3. Kristi Ramadani (ALB): 337 (151/186)

Recap

Moldovan Victor Morosanu drew huge applause early in the session starting with his 148-kilogram snatch opener, as did Gheorghii Cernei who followed at the same weight. Italy’s Oscar Reyes Martinez bumped his opener up twice, starting after the rest of the field with a lightning make at 155.

Leader Martinez pulled out a decidedly un-Italian strategy, returning for modest two-kilogram increases at 157 and 159 to confirm the snatch gold medal, while Armenia’s Rafik Harutyunyan trailed with 158 for silver. Independent Andrei Fralou bagged bronze; the snatch medalists were the only Group A athletes to go three-for-three.

“That looked like more than pain,” commentator Seb Ostrowicz remarked as Cernei dumped all three of his clean & jerks in front and hobbled off stage clutching his knee. Fralou surprised with a snappy power jerk on his 180-kilogram opener, but clarked his final jerk and limped off the platform. Malakmadze was also hurt attempting his final jerk at 182.

After a long stretch of missed lifts, Martinez gave the red lights a breather with his effortless opener at 185. Albania’s Krisi Ramadani pulled off a clutch and deep power jerk to avoid bombing out on his final attempt at 186 — a move that put him on the total podium as well.

Harutyunyan heroically tried 192 for the penultimate lift, but the 2022 European Champion was not successful. Martinez opted out of his final clean & jerk, having already won the thing.

89KG

1. Raphael Friedrich (GER): 376 (171/205)
2. Marin Robu (MDA): 375 (173/202)
3. Lorenzo Tarquini (ITA): 353 (157/196)

Recap

The Men’s 89-kilogram event boasted only eight athletes and progressed quickly as Armenia’s Mnatsakan Abrahamyan started the session on a bad note with three misses at 152, 152, and 153 kilograms. Italy’s newcomer Lorenzo Tarquini celebrated his final lift at 157, going two-for-three, after missing his opener.

Moldova’s hometown hero Marin Robu came out swinging at 165, challenged only by Germany’s Raphael Friedrich , who snuck past Robu’s 170 second go with his final attempt at 171, visibly shaking as he stood.

Robu returned to slam 173 on his last lift, marching off stage with the crowd chanting his name. The top 4 finishers — Robu, Friedrich, German Lucas Mueller , and Georgia’s Saba Asanidze — went three-for-three.

Latvia’s Armands Mezinkis followed himself three times to start the clean & jerks, and opted to burn his own clock on attempt two to conserve energy for his final lift at 180 kilograms. Abrahamyan had more bad luck, bombing out at 196.

Italy secured bronze in the total thanks to Tarquini’s second clean & jerk at 196, who fell backwards on the platform in elation celebrating his Senior debut. Robu made the same weight then jumped to 202 — a difficult clean, but he made the jerk, and the crowd roared for him.

Robu missed his final clean & jerk at 205, ensuring Friedrich walked away as European Champion.

96KG

1. Karlos Nasar (BUL): 417 (188/229)
2. Revaz Davitadze (GEO): 379 (174/205)
3. Davit Hovhannisyan (ARM): 376 (173/203)

Recap

Georgia’s Irakli Gobejishvili opened with inconsistent but lightning-fast snatch attempts around 160 kilograms in the 96-kilogram category. All eyes looked past the athletes and towards the board in anticipation of Bulgaria’s 20-year-old superstar Karlos Nasar, who initially declared a 165 snatch, but did not appear — in the back room, his bar sat at a meager 90.

Independent athlete and social media stuntman Egor Klimonov roared loudly after his opener at 164 to herald his first appearance on an international stage since the 2019 European Weightlifting Championships.

Gobejishvili’s teammate Revaz Davitadze made light work of 167 and looked to be in good condition, having snatched a lifetime competitive best of 177 at Worlds just a few months prior. Following, Turkey’s Hakan Kurnaz stained the board red with his third miss in a row at 168.

Nasar took a whiff of ammonia salts before waltzing out to applause, smoking his opener at 174. Davitadze played an encore at the same weight for his final lift, going three-for-three. With the stage to himself, Nasar jumped to 180 and then set a new world record in the snatch at 188 — his 11th unique Senior record since 2021.

The clean & jerks kicked off with Nasar having an insurmountable 14-kilogram lead on the rest of the field. The field hit a competition-best streak of 17 good lifts in a row between the snatches and jerks as Nasar’s opening acts completed their attempts.

Snatch silver medalist Davitadze came out for his heaviest opener ever at 201, doubled down at 205, tried 208 on his final lift but dropped the bar due to dizziness. Headliner Nasar had the stage to himself, starting with 210.

Nasar loaded and sent 220 into the stratosphere on his second attempt for a new European record in the total at 408. Nasar called for 229 kilograms on the final attempt of the session, what would be a new world record in the total of 417 — he made it.

102KG

1. Yauheni Tsikhantsou (AIN): 399 (181/218)
2. Marcoz Ruis (ESP): 397 (180/217)
3. Tudor Bratu (MDA): 386 (176/210)

Recap

Half of the 10 athletes in the Men’s 102-kilogram category missed their opening snatches, throwing off the cadence of the session early on. Polish athlete Patryk Sawulski was the second lifter to take the stage and had a streak of bad luck, bombing out with attempts at 153, 153, and 155.

Great Britain’s Ramiro Romero came out to make his 161-kilogram opener look easy, but failed his second and third lifts, including a personal record attempt at 168. Spain’s Marcos Ruiz made the first bid for the snatch gold by breaking the 180-kilogram barrier on his third attempt — commentators highlighted his exceptional snatch technique and precision.

But it was independent Yauheni Tsikhantsou who topped the board, going three-for-three and finishing with 181 kilograms. Tsikhantsou and Ruiz were also the only two athletes in Group A to not miss any of their lifts.

Sawulski withdrew from the event early into the clean & jerks, while Ukraine’s Yevhenii Yantsevych made a personal record at 195 with a stunning squat jerk. Romero came out strong with a 200-kilogram opener. Moldovan Tudor Bratu also surprised with a 205-kilogram squat jerk opener that would make Lu Xiaojun blush.

Tsikhantsou and Ruiz traded big blows, rapidly moving the bar from 207 to nearly 220 in the fight for the gold. After missing 217, Ruiz came back with a triumphant roar to make it on his last lift and even aura farmed for the audience as he walked off stage. It was heroic, but it wasn’t enough to suppress Tsikhantsou, who barely made 218 on his last lift.

This wasn’t the end, though; after a 205-kilogram opener, Armenia’s Petros Petrosyan took a long vacation from the stage before coming out to take the last two attempts of the session, jumping 17 kilograms to 222 to get into third place on the podium. He missed twice in a row.

109KG

1. Garik Karapetyan (ARM): 411 (185/226)
2. Simon Martirosyan (ARM): 406 (181/225)
3. Luis Lauret Rodriguez (ROU): 390 (180/210)

Recap

The men’s heavyweight division began with a mostly uneventful snatch session, though four athletes missed their openers between 165 and 180 kilograms. A four-way contest for the snatch medals emerged between independent Siarhei Sharankou, Romania’s Luis Lauret Rodriguez, and Armenians Simon Martirosyan and Garik Karapetyan.

Georgia’s Longinoz Bregvadze injured his elbow on a heavy third snatch attempt. Lauret Rodriguez, a newcomer, made just his 180 kg opener, missing 185 and 186.

Both Armenians missed their snatch openers — Martirosyan looked shaky, and Karapetyan seemed mentally off, possibly still recovering from an injury sustained at Worlds a few months prior. Martirosyan missed 176 and 181, but rallied to make it on his final lift. Karapetyan bounced back to make 180 and then 185, taking the snatch lead.

Latvia’s veteran Arturs Plesnieks bombed out in the clean & jerks, limping off stage after his third attempt at 205. Regardless of their breakaway leads in the first half, Karapetyan came out early and looked much more confident with his 212 opener, while Martirosyan dropped to his lightest opener in years at 213.

Despite having made 240 in the past, Martirosyan dumped 225 for his second clean in a bid to stay ahead of younger teammate Karapetyan. With tremendous effort, he brought it back on his last attempt. But Garik had more to say; after being smashed into the bottom of his final clean & jerk at 226, he sent his bar soaring en route to winning the event overall.

+109KG

1. Varazdat Lalayan (ARM): 450 (210/240)
2. Mart Seim (EST): 415 (180/235)
3. Bohdan Hoza (UKR): 406 (190/216)

Recap

The final event of the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships kicked off with Junior athlete Ali Oflaz of Turkey making 160 kilograms, matching his personal best. Veteran and last-minute 2024 Olympian Kamil Kucera of the Czech Republic logged two good lifts and finished at 166.

Bulgaria’s Hristo Hristov moved up from the 109s to open at 170 as a super, going three-for-three and finishing at 178. Also in the mix was Estonia’s Mart Seim, who went two-for-three and logged a best of 180.

In the absence of one Lasha Talakhadze, Georgian Bakari Turmanidze performed just as consistently, finishing with three no-foot makes up to 183 and bagging bronze in the snatches.

This prompted Ukraine’s Bohdan Hoza, who put on a clinic with his 185-kilogram opener. Commentator Sergei Putsoff remarked on Hoza’s intent to stay in the super-heavyweight category (his best as a 109 Junior being 195, the current world record).

Hoza followed himself for all three lifts and finished at 190, leaving Armenia’s leader Varazdat Lalayan to do the same. Lalayan appeared serene and precise on stage, taking it easy with makes at 200 and 210. He tried 218 on his third attempt but couldn’t lock out his right arm. If successful, it would have been the heaviest snatch of all time by anyone other than Talakhadze.

Commentator Seb Ostrowicz noted that 80% of all snatch attempts were good lifts — a trend that did not hold as the athletes performed inconsistently in the clean & jerks.

Hristov made big jumps but was spat out twice in a row on his jerks, looking winded and dizzy, and left only with his opener. Turkey’s Ali Oflaz collapsed on his final attempt at 217, halting the event before being helped offstage to applause. Kucera failed his first and third lifts as well.

Hoza, however, looked on point, making 211, 216, and almost 219 — the jury reviewed his final lift and cited him for an elbow bend, as Hoza has very long arms and must send the bar extremely high. For the first time since 2016, Seim put himself on an international podium with his clean & jerk opener at 227, and after initially denying him 235, the jury awarded him his second lift. He declined his last clean & jerk attempt.

Lalayan, for the first time in his career, followed himself for all six of his attempts. In the clean & jerks, he made 240, missed 250, and declined to take a final attempt.