Aramnau of Belarus Wins Gold, Breaks 3 Records in the 105-kg

World champion Andrei Aramnau of Belarus broke three heavyweight world records Monday to win his country's first Olympic gold in weightlifting.

Aramnau lifted a total of 436 kilograms (961.2 pounds) in the 105-kg category. Russians Dmitriy Klokov and Dmitry Lapikov took silver and bronze.

At first the competition looked to be a duel between the 20-year-old Aramnau and former world champion Marcin Dolega of Poland, but Dolega missed out on the medals after a disappointing clean and jerk session.

Aramnau broke Dolega's world record in the snatch, becoming the first in the weight class to lift 200 kg (440.9 pounds) in the event. The Pole tried to get the record back but missed his last snatch at 201 kg (443.1 pounds).

"I felt no pressure," Aramnau said. "I'm really stable psychologically. I think my Polish colleague was more stressed."

After clinching the gold medal in his second clean and jerk, Aramnau set another world record in the event by taking 236 kg (520.3 pounds) in his final lift. His total was also a new mark.

"I came here to win and break records," he said. "It's not just empty talk. I did it."

Both Russians overtook Dolega in their last clean and jerks. Klokov, who had the biggest emotional outbursts of the evening, finished with a total of 423 kg (932.6 pounds), 3 kg (6.6 pounds) higher than Lapikov.

Klokov celebrated his final lift by screaming, then kissing the barbell and pumping his fists in the air. At the medal ceremony, he started crying.

"That was the emotion that came naturally because I spent a lot of time preparing for this moment and I just couldn't hold back my tears," Klokov said.

Olympic weightlifters must complete at least one of their lifts in each event to score a total. In the snatch, the bar is raised above the head in one continuous motion. The clean and jerk is a two-part lift in which the bar is first raised to shoulder level before being pushed overhead.

Aramnau's victory was Belarus' first gold medal in Beijing, and its first ever in weightlifting as an independent nation.

It produced several good lifters during Soviet times, such as Aleksandr Kurlovich, who won two Olympic gold medals, competing for the Soviet Union in 1988 and for the Unified Team of former Soviet republics in 1992.

Russia, a weightlifting powerhouse, still hasn't won any gold medals on the platform at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It has one last chance in Tuesday's super heavyweight competition, with clean and jerk world champion Evgeny Chigishev among the favorites.

China's 10-member team, which isn't represented in the final category, dominated at the weightlifting venue, winning eight gold medals and one silver.