Egypt and Colombia take gold, hosts US make podium

A NA H EI M : E g y p t a nd Colombia took the titles on day five of the weightlifting World Championships while Mattie Rogers was one of two medallists for the United States on Saturday.

Harrison Maurus also climbed the podium for the hosts, the 17year- old setting a youth world record of 193 kilograms in the clean and jerk on the way to third place in the men’s 77kg.

Rogers became the f i rst American woman to win a World Championships medal since Cheryl Haworth in 2005, and Maurus the first male medallist since Wes Barnett in 1997.

“I’ve heard of Wes Barnett, I think I may have met him, but I was not aware it had been that long,” said Maurus, who like Rogers is a former gymnast.

“I adjusted my technique in the snatch in the build- up to these championships, which made a difference, and it was always in the back of my mind that I could win a medal here.”

Rogers, 22, finished third in the women’s 69 kg class behind Leidy Solis of Colombia. Solis won with a 239kg total ahead of Albania’s Romela Begaj (235kg), who served a two-year ban after failing a doping test at the 2014 Worlds. Rogers also lifted 235kg. Mohamed Ihab, who became Egypt’s first Olympic weightlifting medallist since 1948 in Rio last year, won the men’s 77 kg class with a 361kg total ahead of Rejepbay Rejepov (352kg) of Turkmenistan and Maurus (348kg). — Reuters