World’s strongest man to miss world weightlifting championships

World’s strongest man Lasha Talakhadze will miss the world weightlifting championships after winning the last 10 combined Olympic and world super heavyweight titles.

Talakhadze, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, is due to become a member of the Georgian parliament just before worlds start in December in Bahrain, according to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

Talakhadze, 31, has won all 10 Olympic and world titles since returning in 2015 from a two-year ban for testing positive for the steroid stanozolol. The super heavyweight weightlifting champion also carries the label of world’s strongest man.

He won the Paris Olympic title in his first competition in 328 days after being sidelined by knee injuries, according to the IWF.

Talakhadze holds the world records for heaviest lifts in the snatch (225 kilograms or 496 pounds) and clean and jerk (267 kilograms or 588 pounds), set in 2021.

That puts his combination world record total at 492kg, eight kilos shy of the 500kg barrier.

According to the IWF, Georgia Weightlifting Federation president Kakhi Kakhiashvili said at the Paris Games that he hopes Talakhadze will reach 500 at the 2026 European Championships, which will be hosted by Georgia.

If Talakhadze returns to competition, he can bid to become the first weightlifter to win four Olympic gold medals in Los Angeles in 2028. He is currently one of five to win three golds with the other four retired.