Coming into the 105kg class at Classic Worlds in Malta, the big question was what kind of shape was Anatolii Novopismennyi in. Three time world champion, he had not been at his best at the Euros last year and had not attended the previous world championships. Sweden's Emil Norling had taken full advantage, deploying his weapon of a deadlift to take both the World and European titles last year. But we know that he suffered an injury only a couple of months ago. He beat Novopismennyi of Ukraine last time they met in battle - how would it go this time?
From the outset, Novopismennyi looked strong and he broke his own squat world record with 362.5kg for his third attempt. GBR's Ben Pape snagged the silver with 330kg on his second and the bronze went to junior world champion, Corentin Clément of France for his 327.5kg. Norling struggled though - 325kg was a fight and he missed 327.5kg. Had he tweaked that injury again?
Novopismennyi won gold on bench with a strong looking 225kg. This put him in a good position going into deadlift, not his best event, 50kg ahead of the pack. He might have been a long way in the lead, but it couldn't have been closer further down the field. Both Abdulla Mohamed of Libya and Pape were on 537.5kg with Norling, Clément and USA's Michael Davis on 535kg and GBR's big deadlifter, Abdjul Majeed Sulayman only 7.5kg behind them,
Mohamed closed the gap a little, opening 20kg heavier than Novopismennyi but, realistically, the Ukrainian could not be caught. We expected Sulayman to make big strides in this discipline and we were shocked when he missed his opener. He was clutching his hand - cramp? Or something more?
Into the final round of deadlifts. Of the contenders, Sulayman was out first - not something we expected. He pulled 352.5kg, miles off his best, and was clearly dealing with an issue. Novopismennyi was out next and pulled a triumphant 3652.5kg for a new world record total at 940kg and to round out a perfect 9/9 day. An awesome performance.
The fight for podium places was not over though. Mohamed hit 365kg for his final pull but Norling responded with 370kg and snatched the deadlift gold along with the overall silver medal.
Anatolii Novopismennyi UKR 940kg
Emil Norling SWE 905kg
Abdjulla Mohamed LBA 902.5kg
Post a Comment