Liao Guifang Won Silver in the Women’s 71 kg Category at the 2024 IWF Weightlifting World Cup

As the action unfolds at the 2024 IWF World Cup in Thailand, athletes are seizing a prime opportunity to secure their positions for the upcoming Olympic Games scheduled for later this summer.

With Olympic qualification on the line, everyone is looking forward to showing their very best performance and having the opportunity to battle for the ultimate prize in weightlifting later on in the year.

Thankfully, for all of us, the women’s 71 kg was packed with terrific showings from some of the world’s best athletes.

Liao Guifang from China was one of them. She started off the competition shakily by her standards, lifting 115 kg on her first Snatch attempt and then failing the next two in hopes of getting 120 kg.

Thankfully, her initial successful attempt was enough to give her a bronze medal for the event and put her in a good position for the overall podium.

On the Clean & Jerk, China’s representative showed a better performance, lifting 149 kg on the second attempt, which was enough for the silver medal in the event, as she finished just 1 kg below her main competition from the US.

With a total of 264 kg, Liao Guifang won the silver medal in the category, having lifted just four kilograms less than Olivia Lynn Reeves from the United States. 

So far in her career, Liao Guifang has set two world records in the women’s 71 kg category and has won the Junior World Championships, Senior World Championships, and Asian Games. In the summer, she hopes to make another dream come true by winning the Olympic gold medal.

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