Kianoush Rostami broke his own world record to win gold in the men's 85kg weightlifting at the Rio Olympics on Friday and clinch Iran's first medal of the Games, before promising it would not be the last. Rostami, 25, a bronze medallist in the same category in London four years ago, made 217kg with his final clean and jerk for a total of 396kg, beating his world record by one kilogram.
Tian Tao of China took silver with 395kgs despite making only two of his six lifts, while Romania's Gabriel Sincraian, who lifted a total of 390kg, secured bronze after edging out Kazakhstan's Denis Ulanov. Rostami looked supremely confident throughout, though he said he was not as sure as he looked when he went for the winning lift. "I have lifted 225 in training, but that 217 was a challenge," the Iranian told reporters. "Anything can happen." When he made his first two snatches with apparent ease, Rostami bowed and gestured to the crowd. However, he missed his third attempt and finished the snatch only 1kg ahead of his main rival, Tian.