Golden Uzbek weightlifter to celebrate on Rio's beaches
The "Pride of Uzbekistan" Ruslan Nurudinov said he planned to celebrate an emotional first-place finish in the men's 105kg weightlifting competition by hitting the golden sands of Rio. Nurudinov bounced back from two years out of the sport following knee surgery to strike gold with a combined total of 431kg, beating an Olympic record along the way. The 24-year-old raised 237kg above his head in the clean and jerk for a new Olympic record and a 14kg win over 19-year-old silver medallist Simon Martirosyan of Armenia. "First I'm going to sleep because I'm really, really tired but then I want to go to the beach," said the charismatic Nurudinov, whose never stopped smiling throughout the contest. "I just want to do a little bit of swimming and relax on Brazil's beaches," the Uzbek added, grinning wildly. Nurudinov, who already had gold assured going into his final record-breaking lift, sank to his knees, roared and burst into tears as the reality of being an Olympic champion hit him. Nurudinov, with his thick beard and shaved head, then ran a lap of the platform waving his country's flag as an adoring crowd stood and chanted "Uzbek, Uzbek, Uzbek". His achievement was made all the more remarkable by the fact that he missed two years of competitive action from 2013 to 2015 because of a recurring knee injury. His left knee was operated on twice during his time out and Nurudinov, who finished fourth at London 2012, feared that he would never compete again. "I want to thank the German doctors for being so awesome. I'm immensely thankful to them," he told reporters, adding that he expected a warm reception when he returned back to Uzbekistan. The lifter is something of a celebrity back in his home country and he clearly feels that he has to have an image to match. "I shaved my head two months back for style. It hasn't brought me good luck -- it's just an image," he explained. Martirosyan's silver was Armenia's first medal of the 2016 Olympics. "Right now I'm the happiest person in the world," said Martirosyan who pledged to go one better and top the podium in Tokyo in four years' time. Kazakhstan's Alexandr Zaichikov, who served a doping ban from 2013 to 2015, claimed bronze on 416kg.
