By Brian Oliver
Sarah Davies from Great Britain claimed the best result of her career at the age of 32 when she made all three clean and jerks for victory at 64kg at the European Championships in Chisinau, Moldova.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard the British anthem on the podium,” said Davies, who had to fly home overnight because she is now working full time, in an athlete sponsorship programme. “I’ve never had gold medals at world and European competitions, only the Commonwealth Games (for England). “I’ve definitely reframed my mindset with weightlifting because I’m working now. I’m trying to treat it less seriously, a bit more like a hobby and seems to be paying off. I’m here to have fun.”
Davies’ final lift of 127kg was enough to deny Aysel Ozkan from Turkiye a first victory. If Ozkan, who is 10 years younger than Davies, had won it would have completed a double on the day for her team. Yusuf Fehmi Genc, who also had his best result to date, set a continental record in clean and jerk on his way to winning at 73kg.
The top four of 30 women at 64kg were separated by only 3kg. Davies made 96-127-223, Ozkan 100-122-222 and Svitlana Moskvina from Ukraine was third on 100-121-221.
Fourth-placed Dziyana Maiseyevich, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Belarus, took snatch bronze in making 99-121-220 from the B Group. Vicky Graillot from France and another B Group athlete, Naroa Arrasate from Spain, won silver and bronze in clean and jerk. “I had no idea what was going on,” said Davies, who could have won with a lift to spare if she had made a 4kg jump. Instead she went up 2kg to secure a place on the podium, then another 2kg for gold.
“I sat facing the wrong way in the back room, and all I knew was I needed all three clean and jerks if I was going to have a chance. I just did what I was told – sometimes that’s the best way. I knew the last one was for the win, but that’s all.”
Genc gave his huge army of social media fans plenty to cheer. He bettered Bozhidar Andreev’s clean and jerk record and would have taken his record on total too but for failing with his final attempt at 195kg. But his performance in snatch was just as important.
Genc, who has more than a quarter of a million followers, had not won a world or continental title since 2019, when he was European youth champion. The reason was always the same – he was too far adrift at halfway.
The 22-year-old won clean and jerk gold at the 2022 World Championships and 2023 European Championships, but both times he was so far behind in snatch that he failed to make the podium on total. Genc improved at the 2024 World Championships four months ago, finishing fourth in snatch and third on total at 67kg, and did better again in Chisinau.
“I ate more, I got stronger, I worked hard to build up my muscles, especially here,” he said, pointing to his lower back. “No change in technique, just more strength.”
Genc made all three snatches to improve his best effort at this weight by 8kg. He finished 154-194-348.
“I’ve been around 70kg for a while and I’m confident that if I move up nearer to 75 I can make 160-200,” he said after signing an autograph for a fan. “I want to be world champion, Olympic champion.
“It’s nice to have so many fans (six million ‘likes’ on TikTok) but I want to be popular because of my success on the platform, not because people think I’m good-looking. My aim is to make the sport popular, not just myself.”
Genc was a wrestler for three years at school. “I came to weightlifting by chance,” he said. “My teacher said he thought I’d be good at it, so I gave it a try. I owe him a lot of thanks.”
Gor Sahakyan from Armenia took silver in only his second competition at this weight. He was European champion at 67kg for the past two years, as well as a multiple world and continental junior champion. Sahakyan made 153-185-338, a 7kg improvement on his total at last year’s World Championships, where he was eighth.
There were plenty of “home” cheers for third-placed Roberto Gutu from Germany. He was born in Italy, raised in Moldova between the ages of two and 13, then moved to Germany. He speaks five languages. “I had friends and family here to support me, and I’ll stay on for a few days before I go back,” said Gutu, 24.
He set two national records in making 155-180-335. “I have improved my power and I can do better again in the future,” he said.
Genc’s team-mate Muhammed Furkan Ozbek failed to make a total. Ozbek, fourth at the Paris Olympic Games despite making only two good lifts, failed with all three snatch attempts. He won silver in clean and jerk on 192kg.