Middle-Heavyweight (≤94 kilograms), Men

Greece’s Akakios Kakiasvili had won this class in 1992, then competing for the Unified Team as a Georgian, and under the name K’akhi K’akhiashvili. At Atlanta in 1996, Kakiasvili, then competing for Greece, won gold in the heavyweight I class. He was 1998-99 World Champion as a middle-heavy and came to Sydney as the favorite to win his third consecutive gold medal. Kakiasvili succeeded but it was a close contest against Poland’s Szymon Kołecki. Kakiasvili led with a world record snatch of 185.0 kg, but Kołecki and Russian Aleksey Petrov had the best clean & jerk with 222.5 kg, meaning that Kakiasvili and Kołecki tied at 405.0 kg, with Petrov getting the bronze medal. However, Kakiasvili won the gold medal on bodyweight, 92.06 to 93.58 kg.

This was Kakiasvili’s third consecutive gold medal, equalling the record set by Turkey’s Naim Süleymanoğlu in 1988-96 and by his Greek teammate Pyrros Dimas, who had done it the day before in Sydney. Turkey’s Halil Mutlu would also equal this mark at Athinai in 2004. Kakiasvili attempted to win a fourth gold in 2004 but went out after failing on his three clean & jerks.