By Julian Linden, OCA Media
Nagoya, Japan, September 26, 2026: Ri Won-ju of DPR Korea set two new world records to win gold in the men’s 70 kilograms division at the Asian Games on Saturday.
Ri set new world marks of 198kg in the clean and jerk and 349kg for the combined total to overhaul Japan’s Masanori Miyamoto, who set a world record of 154kg in the snatch for the non-Olympic lightweight division.
“I wanted to make my own record. I knew I could do that and I felt that,” Ri said.
“In preparing for the Asian Games, I had one wish and it was to raise the flag of our own country. When I saw that, I started crying.”
Miyamoto also eclipsed the newly established world standard for the total but finished 7kg behind Ri after he was unable to hold his last attempted lift.
“I was aiming for the gold medal, so I’m a little disappointed with the silver. But it was great to be able to get a world record at this event,” Miyamoto said.
“I don’t think I achieved my goals. I’d give myself a 70/100. I was aiming to be No.1 but I was disappointed with the result, so that’s a points reduction.
“Now I’m a veteran lifter. I felt like it was time to lay down some solid results. And then there’s the desire to win a gold medal in your own country.
“Before the competition I thought I was ready to break the record, and then I felt I was in even better condition and decided to keep increasing the weight.
"Plus there was the other competitor (Ri), and I thought the world record was close to being broken.”
Albert Ian Delos Santos of the Philippines took the bronze.
The youngest lifter in the field aged 20, he set junior world records for clean and jerk and total at the Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center.
Delos Santos carried his country’s flag at the pening ceremony and comes from a family with a rich heritage in weightlifting. He said he was proud to continue the tradition.
“My sister competed at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, and now being here is like a full circle. And my dad back in the 90s, this is a legacy given to me,” he said.
“Everything is possible, as long as you get up from bed, get out from the couch, everything is possible.”
