Nurcan Breaks 7 Records on Way to Gold
Taylan’s gold was good news for Turkey, which always looks forward to a strong showing in the Olympic weightlifting competitions. Taylan’s performance also makes her the first woman from Turkey to claim Olympic gold.
The first day of competition in the Nikaia Weightlifting Venue saw a tactical struggle play out between Taylan and former World record holder Zhuo Li from China. Taylan broke her first Olympic record by snatching 90 kilos in her first try. She then proceeded to break Olympic and World records by successfully snatching 95 and the 97.5 kilos.
Taylan took a five kilo lead into the clean and jerk stage of the competition. It was just enough to secure the gold for Taylan, as Li was unable to clean and jerk 120 kilos for the win.
Li held the previous World record of 93.5 kilos in the snatch.