Rahmat Erwin Abdullah

Rahmat Erwin Abdullah, born October 13th, 2000, is an Indonesian weightlifter known for his record-breaking achievements on the international stage. At just 20, he became an Olympic medalist in the 73 kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021), winning bronze with a stunning 190 kg clean & jerk. This cemented his reputation as one of the brightest young stars in the sport and a lifter capable of standing alongside the very best. Rahmat went on to dominate World Championships and became the only male weightlifter to hold clean & jerk world records in two different categories, the 73 kg and 81 kg classes. 

Rahmat began making waves early in his career with gold medals at the Asian Junior Championships in 2019 (73 kg category) and at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the same year. His big breakthrough came at the Tokyo Olympics, where he showed maturity far beyond his years, securing bronze and becoming Indonesia’s standout weightlifting hope for the future.

At 21, he claimed his first senior world title at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent in the 73 kg class. A year later, at the 2022 World Championships in Bogotá, Colombia, Rahmat defended his crown and set a new clean & jerk world record of 200 kg, with a total of 352 kg. In 2023, at the World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he shocked the weightlifting world by moving up to the 81 kg class and setting another world record clean & jerk with 209 kg, making him the only man to hold records in both 73 kg and 81 kg divisions.

In 2023, at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, he won gold in the 73 kg category with a 201 kg clean & jerk and a total of 359 kg, breaking his own world record yet again. The following year, at the 2024 Asian Championships in Tashkent, Rahmat swept gold in snatch, clean & jerk, and total, with lifts of 159 kg in the snatch, 204 kg in the clean & jerk (a new world record), and a 363 kg total. These results confirmed his dominance in the 73 kg division and his place as one of the greatest lifters of his generation.

Rahmat’s best lifts in competition are a 209 kg clean & jerk and a 159 kg snatch in the 73 kg class. In training, he has shown even greater potential, with reports of even higher lifts under unofficial conditions. At only 24 years old, he is already a multiple-time world champion, an Olympic medalist, and a world record holder in two categories. He continues to inspire lifters across Indonesia and the world, pushing the limits of what is possible and setting new standards for future generations.