Li Wenwen clinches 40th gold for China with weightlifting women's +81kg victory

Gold medalist Li Wenwen (C) of China, silver medalist Park Hyejeong (L) of South Korea and bronze medalist Emily Campbell of Great Britain attend the awarding ceremony after the weightlifting women's +81kg competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, on Aug. 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

PARIS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese weightlifter Li Wenwen claimed the women's +81kg title on the last day of the Paris Olympics on Sunday in the South Paris Arena.

It marks China's 40th gold medal in Paris, the country's best result at an overseas Olympic Games, surpassing the 39 gold won at the London Olympics.

The Tokyo Olympic champion lifted 136kg in the snatch and 173kg in the clean and jerk, both ranking first, achieving a total of 309kg.

After securing the gold, Li skipped her final clean-and-jerk attempt and lifted her coach in celebration.

"I didn't lift the barbell, but I lifted my coach. I wanted to express my gratitude and respect to him. He is like a father to me," she said.

"Today's competition was intense. I was overthinking because it was my second Olympic Games, and I felt a lot of pressure," the 24-year-old added. "However, I was well-prepared, and my biggest opponent was only myself."

The other competitors were hardly to match Li's performance as South Korea's Park Hye-jeong won the silver medal with a total of 299kg, followed by Britain's Emily Campbell, who took bronze with 288kg.

This also marked the conclusion of the weightlifting competition, after which China topped the event's medal tally with five gold medals, while Bulgaria, the United States, Georgia, Indonesia and Norway each claimed one.

The Paris Olympic Games will officially close on Sunday evening.