Varazdat Lalayan

Varazdat Lalayan was born on May 1st, 1999, and he’s an Armenian weightlifter known for his impressive achievements in the +109 kg category. Over the years, he’s won multiple medals, like the silver medals at the Junior World Weightlifting Championships in 2018 and the European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships the same year. He continued winning medals in the following years, like the gold medal in 2019 at both the Junior World WEightlifting Championships and the European Junior &U23 Championships, the bronze at the 2021 European Weightlifting Championships and a silver medal at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships.  His career is marked by determination and consistent performance, and he continued being successful after transitioning from junior to senior category. 

His weightlifting career had a strong start; in 2018, he won silver medals in the men’s +105 kg event at the Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and the European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships in Zamość, Poland. 

The following year was his breakthrough year. 2019 saw him winning gold medals in the men’s +109 kg event at both the Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Suva, Fiji, and the European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships in Bucharest, Romania. 

Lalayan’s transition from junior to senior competitions was seamless. In 2021, he won the bronze medal in the men’s +109 kg event at the European Weightlifting Championships held in Moscow, Russia. Later that same year, he won a silver medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 

In 2022, Lalayan’s success continued. He won a silver medal at the European Championships and a bronze medal at the IWF World Championships. His total lifts showed his incredible ability and determination to excel in this category.

2023 was equally as great for him; he won the silver medal at the European Championships in April and a silver medal at the IWF World Championships in September. 

At the 2024 IWF World Cup in Paris, he won first place in the +109 kg category with a total lift of 463 kg – 210 kg snatch and a 253 kg clean and jerk. He also won the European Championships in February 2024, with a total lift of 455 kg.