site.btaBulgarian Weightlifter Nasar Sets New World Record in 89 Kg Clean and Jerk Lift

Bulgarian weightlifter Karlos Nasar broke the 89 kg clean and jerk world record by 3 kg, by lifting 220 kg, but missed all three of his snatch attempts, at the IWF World Championships in Bogota, Colombia.

The Olympic 96 kg silver medallist Keydomar Vallenilla from Venezuela won the contest on total with a career-best 175-210-385 at this weight category. 

Vallenilla’s best clean and jerk was 10kg lower than Nasar’s, but the Bulgarian was already out of the running on total after the snatch failures.

Nasar had prepared for competing in the world’s fifth highest capital city by training for 40 days at mid-altitude in Bulgaria but, he said, his performance had been badly affected by the recent death of a close friend – his personal coach Ilian Iliev who died in a car crash caused by poor visibility and snow en route the mid-altitude training camp just a week before the world championships event. 

In Bogota on Monday Nasar, who turned 18 last week, made 212 kg with his first clean and jerk before failing with a junior world record attempt at 217 kg.

The Bulgarian went for 220kg on his final attempt to take the senior world record from Italy's Antonino Pizzolato, who was not fit to compete here. Why so high, when 218kg would have been enough for the record? Said Nasar: "I have lifted 225 kg in training many times, and I went all or nothing". His record-breaking lift took the clean and jerk gold ahead of Liu Huanhua of China on 215kg and Brayan Rodallegas (Colombia) on 211 kg.

Born in Paris to a Bulgarian mother and a Lebanese father, Nasar grew up in Cherven Bryag, North Central Bulgaria, where he was coached by his late coach Iliev. 

Nasar's gold is the second medal for Bulgaria at the Bogota World Championships after Bozhidar Andreev won silver in the snatch in the 73 kg category. 

The last two Bulgarians to compete in Bogota are David Fisherov and Vassil Marinov, both in the 102 kg category, on December 14.