Weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun wins 2 women's bronzes at world championships

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) Taiwanese Olympic champion Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳) won two bronze medals Saturday at the 2025 World Weightlifting Championships, being held in Førde, Norway, from Oct. 2 to 11.

With a snatch of 96 kilograms and a clean and jerk of 128 kg, Kuo recorded a total of 224 kg to win bronze medals in the clean and jerk and total categories for Taiwan in her weight class.

During her snatch event, Kuo lifted 94 kg without any problems before another successful 96 kg pull in her second attempt.

Kuo then decided to challenge 98 kg for her final attempt but was not successful, leaving her snatch score capped at 96 kg, which placed her fifth in the event.

As Taiwan's Olympic gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Kuo has always excelled in the clean and jerk.

At Saturday's event, Kuo initially aimed to start strong with a 125 kg lift but ultimately chose 124 kg.

Her first attempt in her signature event was ruled unsuccessful after judges observed that her elbow had bent during the lift.

The setback, however, was short-lived. Kuo successfully lifted 125 kg on her second attempt and 128 kg on her third, completing both without issue.

The results put Kuo third in the clean and jerk event and also third overall, which resulted in her winning two bronze medals.

At 31 years old, Kuo was the oldest to compete among 11 athletes in the women's 58 kilograms weight class.

Like fellow weightlifter Chen Guan-ling (陳冠伶), Kuo had to cut weight to compete in the class, coming in one kilogram lighter than her usual 59 kg category, which was not available at the 2025 World Weightlifting Championships.

Speaking with CNA, Kuo's coach, Lin Ching-nung (林敬能), revealed that she competed on Saturday despite carrying injuries sustained throughout the year.

Lin added that the experience has provided Kuo with valuable lessons on competing under her current condition, with Saturday's event serving as a stepping stone to identify areas for improvement before facing higher-level competitions in the future.

Kuo herself had previously said that she entered the Norway championships not to win medals, but to gauge her potential opponents ahead of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.