Akbar Djuraev

Akbar Djuraev (born 8 October 1999) is an Uzbekistani weightlifter, Olympic Champion and Junior World Champion. He won the gold medal in the men's 109kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He also won the gold medal in the men's 109kg event at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

He competed in the 105 kg category until 2018, and the 102 kg and 109 kg categories starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories.

He holds the junior world record in the snatch and total in the 102 kg division, as well as the snatch, clean & jerk and total in the 109 kg division.

Career
In the 2017 Junior World Championships, Djuraev finished sixth in the 105-kilogram weight category with a total of 352 kilograms in the two exercises (162 + 190).

At the 2017 World Championships in Anaheim, Akbar placed 13th with a total of 373 kilograms in the 105-kilogram weight category. In the snatch, Akbar lifted 174 kilograms, and in the clean and jerk, he managed 199 kilograms.

In the 2018 Junior Asian Championships, Akbar won a gold medal with a total of 372 kilograms. In the same year. In the 2018 Junior World Championships in Tashkent, he secured a silver medal. In total, Akbar Djuraev lifted 369 kilograms, with 167 kilograms in the snatch and 202 kilograms in the clean and jerk.

In early November 2018, at the World Championships in Ashgabat, the Uzbek athlete won a gold medal in the 102-kilogram weight category in the snatch, lifting 180 kilograms. In the overall standings, he finished fourth, missing the absolute bronze medal by just one kilogram. His result in the clean and jerk was 212 kilograms.

In the December 2018 Qatar International Cup, Akbar Djuraev won a bronze medal in the new 109-kilogram weight category, lifting a total of 392 kilograms, the same weight he lifted at the World Championships in Ashgabat. In April, at the Asian Championships, Akbar Djuraev improved his personal record in the 109-kilogram weight category. The Uzbek weightlifter lifted 185 kilograms in the snatch and 225 kilograms in the clean and jerk, with a total of 410 kilograms, earning him a silver medal. In June, he became the Junior World Champion, lifting a total of 398 kilograms.

At the 2019 World Championships in Pattaya, Akbar Djuraev won a silver medal in the 109-kilogram weight category, jerking 229 kilograms. In the final standings, he finished fourth with a total of 417 kilograms. This result is a junior world record. He also won the Qatar Cup, with successful attempts of 185 kilograms in the snatch and 220 kilograms in the clean and jerk (405 kilograms in total).

In 2020, he won gold at the International Solidarity Championships, lifting a total of 410 kilograms in the two exercises. In the April Asian Championships, he again placed second, achieving a career-best result in the 109-kilogram weight category – 194 kilograms in the snatch and 234 kilograms in the clean and jerk (a total of 428 kilograms). He earned the right to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo after defeating Olympic champion Ruslan Nurudinov by 12 kilograms at the Uzbekistan Championship. In Japan, he defeated Armenian weightlifter Simon Martirosyan and became an Olympic champion.

In Saudi Arabia, at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships, the Uzbek athlete in the 109-kilogram category won the gold medal of the world championship with a total of 415 kilograms in the two exercises. He also received the small gold medal in the snatch and the small silver medal in the clean and jerk.