Kuo Hsing-chun of Taiwan won three gold medals and set three world records in the women’s 59-kilogram category at the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships April 23 in China.
Kuo’s first was in the snatch when she lifted 106 kg to break her own record of 105 kg set at the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships. Her second was in the clean and jerk when she lifted 137 kg to break the record of 136 kg set by China’s Chen Guiming at the 2019 World Cup.
Kuo’s third was for the total of 243 kg, 6 kg more than her own record set at the 2018 WWC. This placed her ahead of Chen, 233 kg and Japan’s Ando Mikiko, 225 kg.
The gold haul repeats Kuo’s success at the 2017 AWC and brings her career gold medal tally to 10 at the annual championships.
As the AWC also serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Kuo is a hot favorite to win a berth at the Summer Games.
Kuo, raised in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County, claimed silver at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. She also won a total of six golds at the 2013, 2017 and 2018 editions of the WWC. (SFC-E)
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