Paris - Talented young Indonesian lifter Rizki Juniansyah made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by bringing home the second gold medal for Indonesia, and the first for weightlifting. This extraordinary achievement is a long wait for Indonesia in the weightlifting sport, after last winning gold at the Olympics many years ago.
Rizki, who has just turned 21 years old, performed impressively in the 73kg category on Friday (9/8/2024) early morning WIB. In his performance, Rizki managed to lift a total weight of 354kg, consisting of 155kg in the snatch and 199kg in the clean and jerk. Her clean and jerk not only secured the gold medal but also broke the previous Olympic record, a remarkable achievement for her Olympic debut.
Reported by kemenpora.go.id, this victory has a very important meaning, not only for Rizki, but also for the entire Indonesian contingent. Weightlifting has always been Indonesia's mainstay in medals since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, although the medals won previously were always silver or bronze. With Rizki's stunning performance, Indonesia finally returned to the top of the podium, proving that weightlifting is still the nation's main strength in the international arena.
Rizki's success was even more special because he managed to beat Shi Zhiyong, the defending 2016 and 2020 Olympic champion from China, who failed to record the clean and jerk force and had to be willing not to get on the podium. Rizki, who was appearing on the Olympic stage for the first time, showed great composure and mental strength, handling the pressure very well.
Not only that, this gold medal also adds to Indonesia's gold collection at the 2024 Paris Olympics, after previously Veddriq Leonardo won gold in rock climbing. With these two gold medals, Indonesia's position is getting stronger in the medal standings, giving great pride to all Indonesian people.
However, the struggle of the Indonesian weightlifting contingent is not over yet. Great expectations are now set on Nurul Akmal, Indonesia's flagship female lifter, who will compete in the women's +81kg on Sunday (11/8/2024). All attention is now focused on Nurul to add to the coffers of medals for Indonesia at this Olympics.
Rizki Juniansyah's success is certainly a great inspiration for Indonesia's young generation. At a very young age, Rizki has proven that with hard work, discipline, and a high fighting spirit, great achievements on the world stage are not impossible to achieve. (InfoPublik.id)