Meanwhile in Korea … at the 2014 Asian Games.
Second day of the competition and already the 3rd World Record (4 if you count the Jr WR).
Kim Un-Guk from North Korea breaks the 12 year old 62kg Snatch Record by Shi Zhiyong.
He also holds the current total WR and “only” needs a 182kg C&J to break it.
154kg Snatch is the new number to beat.
Update: A 178kg Clean & Jerk also got him a new Total World Record, which now stands at 332kg.
Update: You have to read this short piece about North Korean lifters at the Asian Games.
Love, Eggs and Ideas: the Keys to NKorean Weightlifting Success
“But thanks to the warm care of the Respected Marshal Kim Jong Un, I did not feel any trouble in treating the trouble on my waist. So, the warm care and great love of Respected Marshal Kim Jong Un has given me the opportunity to be the champion.”
Increasing the total by five freaking kilos? What is going on? Is North Korea the new Bulgaria?
NORTH KOREA IS BEST KOREA
The era of Chinese domination is officially over. They’ve only got the 69s and 77s now.
Wouldn’t be so quick with that; the 2 North Koreans are basically a single freak pair like Liao Hui and Lu Xiaojun. Plus, the final medal tally, even in this single competition, which has went terribly for the Chinese starting from the freak accident with Tian Tuan (who, I believe was the first Chinese 48kg woman to lose in over a decade), we may still see the China come to the the top of the gold tally yet. With Lu Xiaojun and Lin Qinfeng plus Zhou Lulu, Kang Yue, Xiang Yanmei and Deng Wei still left, the Chinese team are far from out just yet. I’d say 5-6 golds. And even if they do meltdown completely here, it’s just 1 competition.
Aaaaaaand the Empire strikes back! 69, 77, 85, 94, 105, baby!
is the korean training system similar from the chinese? I supose they do a lot of bodybuilding stuff since they lifters are very muscular.
Is there any group of people better built for weightlifting? Seriously, they’re like torsos that happened to have sprouted limbs.
That’s what happens with famine. All your population grows up to look like Naim Suleymanoglu.
I don’t know about you guys but I’m always having difficulties to root for North Koreans. Of course I don’t know about that but I’m thinking about the ways these lifters are being pushed to break records. With everything you hear about life in North Korea it’s kinda eerie to see them lift. It’s that picture about the completely brainwashed humanoid robot in a society devoid of free will that – because of talent – was taken out of one hell just to find himself in another. I can’t imagine that they deeply enjoy their records so I can neither. Same thing with the North Korean “fans” .. the whole thing frightens me.
they probably enjoy it…they probably get a great livelihood (relatively speaking) for them and their family I’d guess.
Absolutely .. that’s part of what I was trying to describe: They do not (imo!) enjoy winning .. they enjoy that they have gained another training cycle of some kind of valuable life. Maybe for their families too. If their livelihood relies on Kim’s performance it’s not joy, it’s relief. But like I said .. that’s my very personal view of it but nonetheless the reason why I can’t enjoy the performance as I wish I could.
Why wouldn’t they also enjoy the personal glory? It’s not like you can only enjoy 1 or the other.
Maybe they do. Although they use the term “The Great Leader” insted of “I” when they are asked about their performance….
It’s just my view on the situation and how I feel about it … can be completely different as well, hence the “imo”
i would like to see those political statements and this hand-to-the-head signs banned. its some kind of provocation to see athletes cheering for such an criminal regimen. what would they do if German lifters celebrate with the Hitler salute or the Russians with Stalin-shirts?
another question: is the drug-testing system at asian games comparable to european/world championships?
notwithstanding the above, always interesting to see such big lifts.
I think he’s saying it’s “fear” based. If they don’t perform they probably suffer in some way which would probably make the victory bitter-sweet. I see both sides.
Are the Russians, Chinese and Americans going to start copying the totalitarian system of North Korea so they can produce better weightlfiters now? 🙂
They’ve produced 2 good lifters. I wouldn’t turn the world upside down to imitate then just yet LOL. China produces a whole team, with stand-ins (in case of multiple competitions or injury substitutions) of powerful weightlifters, most of which are at least (gold) medal hopefuls, with Liao Hui and Lu Xiaojun being at least as dominant in their weight ranks as the 2 North Koreans were in theirs.
I was definitely joking:)
IMO, you are biased by “Democracy/capitalism is the best (even though nobody actually has it) and any citizen of non democratic country is brainwashed and can’t be genuinely happy” syndrome.
North Korea is not just any ‘non-democratic country’. Having your uncle eaten by dogs is not really the norm now is it?
There are many things wrong with North Korea, but that “uncle eaten by dogs” thing was a hoax http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/06/story-kim-jong-un-uncle-fed-dogs-made-up