Liu Huanhua

Chinese weightlifter (born 2001)

Snatch: 185 kg (2023)
Clean & Jerk: 233 kg (2023, GR)
Total: 418 kg (2023, GR)

Medal record

Men's weightlifting

Representing China
World Championships
	2023 Riyadh	102 kg
	2022 Bogotá	89 kg
IWF World Cup
	2024 Phuket	102 kg
Asian Games
	2022 Hangzhou	109 kg
Asian Championships
	2023 Jinju	96 kg
National Games of China
	2021 Shaanxi	81 kg

Liu Huanhua (Chinese: 刘焕华^[2]; pinyin: Liú Huànhuá; born 20 August 2001) is a Chinese weightlifter^[3] currently competing in the men's 102 kg category. He is also the current senior world record holder for both the clean and jerk and the total in his weight class.

Career

Early career

Liu became involved in the sport of weightlifting in Chenzhou at the age of 13, where he was soon identified and drafted by the coach of the Tianjin weightlifting team.^[4]

His first recorded appearance was at the 2018 China Youth Championships, competing in the men's 77 kg class. He finished first in both the snatch and clean and jerk, winning a gold medal.^[5]

In 2021, Liu advanced to the men's 81 kg class at the 14th National Games of China held in Shaanxi. His performances resulted in a third-place finish overall.^[6]

2022-2023

The subsequent year saw Liu further increasing his weight class to the men's 89 kg, where he competed in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships held in Bogotá. He finished in sixth place in the snatch event and third in the clean and jerk, cumulating in an overall bronze medal finish.^[7]

In 2023, Liu continued his upward trajectory in weight class, participating in the men's 96 kg category at the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju. His performances resulted with an overall first-place finish, earning him a gold medal. This was achieved through securing first place in the snatch and second place in the clean and jerk. Of note was his 89.48 kg bodyweight, which gave most of his competitors a body weight advantage.^[8]

Liu then made another jump in weight class for the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, moving into the men's 102 kg. He ranked fourth in the snatch and first in the clean and jerk, ultimately resulting in an overall gold medal and marking his first world championship victory. ^[9]

Liu again, made another jump in weight class for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, moving up to the men's 109 kg category. He ranked second in the snatch and first in the clean and jerk, getting a gold medal in the total. He weighed in at 100.8 kg making him eligible to compete in the 102 kg class but the Asian Games used the former Summer Olympic categories, thus forcing him to move up to a class in to the 109's. His lifts of 233 kg in the clean & jerk and 418 kg in the total would break the world standards and would set new world records but since he competed in the 109's his records would not be recorded in the 102's.^[10]

Major results

Year	Venue	Weight	Snatch (kg)				Clean & Jerk (kg)				Total	Rank
Year	Venue	Weight	1	2	3	Rank	1	2	3	Rank	Total	Rank
Representing China
World Championships
2022	Bogotá, Colombia	89 kg	160	166	~~171~~	6	205	211	215		381
2023	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	102 kg	171	176	180	4	~~215~~	221	224		404
Asian Games
2023	Hangzhou, China	109 kg	~~175~~	180	185	2	215	227	233	1	418
Asian Championships
2023	Jinju, South Korea	96 kg	~~170~~	170	175		210	~~223~~	~~223~~		385
IWF World Cup
2024	Phuket, Thailand	102 kg	175	181	~~186~~	5	220	225	232 CWR		413 CWR
IWF Grand Prix
2023	Doha, Qatar	102 kg	170	~~176~~	176	4	210	222	~~225~~		398

References

^ Winter, Gregor (23 July 2023). "Team China ft Tian Tao, Li Dayin, Liu "Gigachad" Huanhua 2023 Asian Championships". All Things Gym. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
^ "举重亚锦赛天津选手刘焕华夺冠" [Tianjin's Liu Huanhua wins Asian Weightlifting Championships]. ty.tj.gov.cn (in Chinese). 12 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "Results by events - 2023 Asian Championships". iwf.sport. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "带伤为天津拼下铜牌刘焕华：目标超越"军哥"" [Injured and won the bronze medal for Tianjin Liu Huanhua: The goal is to surpass "Brother Jun"]. tj.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 14 August 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "China Youth Championship, 2018-03-10 浙江-海宁 Zhejiang - Haining (CHN)". iwrp.net. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "举重全锦赛男子81公斤级湖北队向飞洋夺双金" [Hubei team Xiang Feiyang wins double gold in men's 81kg weightlifting championship]. sports.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 18 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "2022 IWF World Weightlifting Championships Full Results & Highlights". barbend.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "Jinju, Day 7: Good day for hosts Korea and China wins again at Asian Championships". iwf.sport. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "Results by Events - International Weightlifting Federation". iwf.sport. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
^ Berkeley, Geoff (6 October 2023). "China's Liu beats Olympic weightlifting champion in sensational finish". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 8 October 2023.