By Angelica Medina
PARIS (Reuters) -China’s Hou Zhihui retained her 49kg Olympic weightlifting title with a total lift of 206kg at the Paris Games on Wednesday in a contest that ended in a nail-biting finish against Romania’s Mihaela Cambei.
Former world champion Hou finished with an Olympic record lift of 117kg on her third attempt in the clean & jerk to snatch gold from Cambei’s hands with the last lift of the night.
The Romanian set the stage for a classic tussle when she hoisted 93kg in the snatch to take the early lead.
Hou, who managed 89kg in the snatch, hoisted 110kg in her first round of the clean and jerk, only for Cambei to respond with a 112kg lift in the third round.
That left the Chinese lifter to break the Olympic record to win by heaving 117kg onto her shoulders and then up above her head and celebrating with a scream when she got the all-clear.
Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao claimed the bronze medal with a total of 200kg.
India’s Mirabai Chanu, who won silver in Tokyo, went home empty handed after finishing fourth on 199kg when she failed to lift 114kg with her final attempt.
(Angelica Medina in Paris; Additional reporting by Janina Nuno; Editing by Ed Osmond and Ken Ferris)
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