Day 5 of the 2026 EWF European Championships in Batumi brought another strong day of lifting, with Janette Ylisoini of Finland taking the women’s 77 kg title and Marin Robu of Moldova winning the men’s 88 kg category. It was also a historic day for Bosnia and Herzegovina, who celebrated their first-ever European Championships medal in weightlifting.
In the women’s 77 kg category, Ylisoini came out on top with 247 kg total, built from 113 kg in snatch and 134 kg in clean & jerk. Varvara Kuzminova AIN finished second on 244 kg, while Iryna Dombrovska of Ukraine took bronze with 243 kg. It was a close category from start to finish, with just four kilos covering the top three totals.
There were records in 77kg session too. Kuzminova made 112 kg in snatch before Ylisoini answered with 113 kg, and both lifts were marked as new European junior record. Armenia’s Anna Amroyan then made the best clean & jerk of the category with 136 kg, also marked as a new European junior record, but she did not finish with a total. Ylisoini’s winning 247 kg total was also listed as a new European junior record.
The men’s 88 kg category ended with Robu on top after another high-level battle. The Moldovan lifter won the title with 373 kg total, made up of 173 kg in snatch which is now the new European senior record and 200 kg in clean & jerk. Georgia’s Zurab Mskhaladze finished second on 363 kg, while Andranik Karapetyan, lifting for Bosnia and Herzegovina, took bronze with 361 kg. For Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was country’s first-ever European medal in weightlifting, turning it into a landmark day for Bosnian-Herzegovinian weightlifting.
Photos @Hiroki Nishioka – Easy Sport