Liu Huanhua

Liu Huanhua, born on August 20th, 2001, is a Chinese weightlifter competing in the men’s 102 kg category. He holds the senior world records for both the clean and jerk and the total in his weight class. He started lifting at the age of 13 in Chenzhou and was soon recruited by the Tianjin weightlifting team. His career highlights include winning gold at the 2003 World Weightlifting Championships and setting multiple world records at the 2023 IWF World Cup in Paris. 

His first big competition was the 2018 China Youth Championships, where he competed in the men’s 77 kg category and won gold in both the snatch and clean and jerk events. 

In 2021, he transitioned to the men’s 81 kg class at the 14th National Games of China held in Shaanxi, where he finished in third place. This marked the beginning of his transition to higher weight categories. In 2022, he competed in the men’s 80 kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships in Bogota, where he got a bronze medal overall after being placed in sixth place in the snatch and in third place in the clean and jerk.

2023 was a big year for Liu as he transitioned to the men’s 96 kg category, competing in the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju. His performance was outstanding, and he won a gold medal after being first in the snatch and second in the clean and jerk. Even though he weighed 89.48 kg, which gained his competitors an advantage, his strength and skill prevailed. 

In the same year, he made another significant weight class transition – to the men’s 102 kg category. He competed at the World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, where he got fourth place in the snatch and first in the clean and jerk. In the end, he won the gold medal, which was his first world championship victory. 

In 2024, Liu competed at the IWF World Cup in Paris and lifted a total of 413 kg in the 102 kg category. He set new world records in both the clean and jerk and the total.