Taiwan's Chiang Kai-chieh wins powerlifting gold at World Games

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) Taiwan's powerlifter Chiang Kai-chieh (江凱傑) won a dramatic gold medal in the men's equipped middleweight at the World Games in Chengdu, China, on Saturday, hitting a 342.5 kilogram deadlift on his final try to overtake two Ukrainian rivals.

The 36-year-old Chiang has long represented Taiwan in international powerlifting competitions, and he made headlines at the World Powerlifting Championships last year by winning silver, earning him a spot in the Chengdu World Games.

In the men's equipped middleweight final, Chiang was in fifth place after the first two events after lifting 352.5 kilograms in the squat and 227.5 kilograms in the bench press.

In the final deadlift segment, Chiang successfully lifted 315.0 kilograms and 327.5 kilograms that virtually ensured him of winning a medal, and so on his third attempt, he went for gold by attempting a lift of 342.5 kilograms.

He nailed it to give him a final score of 107.54 points, edging out Ukraine's Vitalii Kolomiiets and Mykola Barannik and sealing a stunning gold medal for Taiwan.

Kolomiiets actually lifted more weight in his three lifts than Chiang but lost out on the gold medal because he weighed 0.6 kg more than the Taiwanese powerlifter.

In the women's equipped middleweight category, Taiwan's Huang Yen-tzu (黃彥慈) finished fourth with 108.86 points after failing her last deadlift of 215 kg. Fellow Taiwanese female powerlifter Hsiu-ching (洪秀靜) placed seventh with 102.07 points.

Taiwan has so far collected three gold, five silver, and four bronze medals at the Chengdu Games, ranking 22nd among 76 countries.

Powerlifters Tien Chi-sen (田基森) and Yang Sen (楊森) will compete in the men's super heavyweight event on Sunday.