DPRK’s Rapid Development in Weightlifting Event

Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) — In recent years weightlifters of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have made good results in international tournaments.

The DPRK won three gold and one other medals in the weightlifting event of the 2012 London Olympiad and 28 medals, including 15 gold medals, in the 2013 Asian Weightlifting Championship. It also obtained 149 medals, 80 gold medals included, in the 2013 Asian Cup and Interclub Junior and Senior Weightlifting Championship, topping the standings of countries.

Its weightlifters emerged winners in women’s 63 kg and 69 kg categories of the 6th East Asian Games held in Tianjin of China recently.

In the London Olympiad Kim Un Guk set a new world record in the men’s 62 kg with a lift of 327kg in total and Om Yun Chol a new Olympic record in the men’s 56 kg clean-and-jerk event by lifting 168 kg.

As regards such good results of DPRK weightlifters in the Olympiad, the Associated Press (AP) said that their successes were attributable to supreme leader Kim Jong Un, who gave courage and strength to them.

China’s Xinhua said that DPRK’s good results were not a surprise and its athletes have regarded it as their duty to give pleasure to their supreme leader Kim Jong Un with sports success.

Referring to DPRK’s results in the 2013 Asian Cup and Interclub Junior and Senior Weightlifting Championship, an international weightlifting referee of China said:

“I never expected that Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the DPRK, came to watch competitions in the championship. As he pays deep attention to the sports development of the country, its weightlifting will further develop.”

A Chinese weightlifting coach said the DPRK has rapidly developed in weightlifting in recent years, stressing that it would take the world weightlifting supremacy in a few years to come, thanks to supreme leader Kim Jong Un’s deep care. -0-