Bulgaria’s Karlos Nasar became the lightest man to lift 400 kilograms in competition when he broke the men’s weightlifting world record of 89 kilograms at Friday’s Olympics. “For me, the Olympics are like going to space and I feel like I’m on Mars,” said 20-year-old Nasar. Tied for first place after lifting 180kg in the first round, the 20-year-old delayed his entry into the clean and jerk until most of his rivals had used their three attempts at lower weights.
With his first lift, he lifted 213 kilograms over his head to secure gold.
That left him two attempts to total 400kg and he chose to aim high.
Nasar seemed little disturbed. Stopping another tap with the bar on his chest, he smiled, before lifting the world record 224kg over his head, bringing his total to 404kg, another record.
Nasar would have lifted even heavier weights in training.
“I visualized victory many times and achieved them all,” he said.
When asked if he was joking for the camera, Nasar smiled.
“Sometimes the emotions I show I can’t control,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t even remember what happened on stage.”
Colombian Yeison Lopez came in second with 390kg. Italian Antonino Pizzolato scored a dramatic bronze after failing on his first two attempts, before being spared a draw when judges upheld his appeal following a video review.
Talk at the press conference quickly turned to Nasar’s romantic life.
Nasar said he would go to rhythmic gymnastics on Saturday to support the Bulgarian team and his girlfriend Magdalina Minevska.
Weightlifting has long struggled to shake off the negative image of a junkie’s playground.
Nasar, who set his first world record at age 17, could be the charismatic bad boy the sport needs to generate more favorable interest.
In 2022, he was arrested in a Bulgarian seaside resort and, in the following February, he received a suspended prison sentence for driving under the influence of recreational drugs and without a license and for trying to evade arrest.
In May last year, he grabbed the soap while showering in a Sofia hotel, dislodging the sink which broke and severed one of his Achilles tendons. He needed surgery.
“Every movement is painful,” he said at the time. “It’s hard to even brush your teeth and open your eyes.”
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