Sa ends China's weightlifting monopoly

BEIJING (AFP) - Sa Jaeh-Youk of South Korea won the men's 77kg weightlifting gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion on Wednesday, inflicting China's first defeat in the competition.

Sa hoisted 203kg in the clean and jerk and 163kg in the snatch for a total lift of 366kg and the South Koreans' first weightlifting title in these Games.

Li Hongli of China achieved the same total but Sa won by virtue of his lower body weight. Gevorg Davtyan of Armenia won the bronze with 360kg.

The soft-spoken Sa said he was spurred on to victory by the nightmarish performance of his colleagues here, who were in the running for the medals with huge lifts in the snatch, only to collapse during the clean and jerk segment.

"They really kept me awake at night," he said.