PARIS (Reuters) -Georgia's Lasha Talakhadze won his third Olympic weightlifting title with a dominant performance in the men's over 102kg class on Saturday, lifting a total of 470kg to prevail in a dramatic three-way battle.
Talakhadze faced a spirited challenge from young Armenian Varazdat Lalayan, who equalled his 215kg snatch lift, but Bahrain's Gor Minasyan took a narrow lead going into the clean and jerk by lifting one kilo more in the snatch.
The thrilling tussle sent the raucous crowd at the South Paris Arena into a frenzy, and Minasyan had them on their feet when he started the clean and jerk with a lift of 245kg on his first attempt.
The pressure was all on Talakhadze after Lalayan's second clean and jerk attempt of 252kg, but the twice Olympic champion, who won gold at both the Rio and Tokyo Games, produced a superb second lift of 255kg to secure his third title.
Lalayan took silver with 467kg after failing his last attempt and Minasyan claimed bronze with 461kg.
The super-weight limit for the men's class has differed at various Olympics, but the 30-year-old Talakhadze has excelled in the unlimited class since the Rio Games, taking gold in the then over 105kg class, and again in Tokyo in the over 109kg class.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Paris; Editing by Hugh Lawson amd Ed Osmond)
