Nurudinov, who already had gold assured, lifted 237kg in the clean and jerk to set a new Olympic record.
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“Then I want to swim”.
World record holder Ilya Ilyin of Kazakhstan had been considered the favorite for gold, but he missed the Olympics after failing doping retests of samples he gave at the 2008 and 2012 games.
His victory crowned a successive return to action following two operations on his left knee.
The Uzbek weightlifter stands out as he smiles and pokes out his tongue during each lift.
Armenia’s Simon Martirosyan came in a distant second and took silver with a total of 417kg, followed by bronze victor Alexandr Zaichikov of Kazakhstan with 416kg. He joked: “I’ve never bitten it yet”. The 19-year-old finished ahead of two men who had beaten him at the European championships in April with a career-best total of 417kg.
Alexandr Zaichikov of Kazakhstan only managed one valid clean and jerk lift but it proved enough for the bronze medal and a total of 416kg.
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“I am so exhausted, so very exhausted, I just want to sleep”, said Nurudinov, who has undergone two bouts of knee surgery in the past two years, after winning with an overall total of 431kg.
