North Korean weightlifters set another world record, dominate in Hangzhou

HANGZHOU, China: North Korea's weightlifters once again crushed the opposition at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday (Oct 2) with another world record and two more golds, triggering admiration and astonishment from some of their competitors.

The eye-catching world record on Monday came from Kim Il Gyong, 20, who lifted 111kg in the snatch on her way to gold in the women's 59kg category.

That beat the previous record of 110kg set in 2021 by Taiwan's Kuo Hsing-chun and came after two other women's world records were set by Kim's teammates on Saturday.

"We have very good training facilities and we put in a lot of hard work,” Kim said when asked how her team had done so well, after a medals ceremony in which she cried during the national anthem.

But her rivals either declined to comment or expressed shock.

Kuo, 29, said of the world record set on Saturday by Ri Song Gum: "The 49kg, I actually came to watch that day and when I saw it, I said it was just too scary.

"They (North Korea) have been strong in the past for many years so it is not too surprising that they would have such results, but it is still pretty scary."

The 19th Asian Games is North Korea's first major weightlifting competition since December 2019 due in part to COVID-19 and they may be benefiting from skipping competitions, including last month's world championships in Riyadh.

Their absence means they have not had to deal with post-competition recovery, several observers and athletes said.

"We have not competed internationally for four years," said Kim's teammate Rim Un Sim, who won North Korea's other gold on Monday in the women's 64kg and set an Asian Games record.

"In that time we have shed tears and a lot of sweat."

Kim had given an early indication that she was