Turkmenistan's Gaygysyz Torayev won three silver medals in the snatch, clean and jerk and combined total at the qualifying Olympic Grand Prix tournament of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) held in Havana (Cuba).
This success was achieved by a 2nd year student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports in the non-Olympic weight category up to 81 kg, in which 13 athletes were declared. After weighing in, five of them withdrew from the competition, including European champion in this weight category Oscar Reyes from Italy and European silver medalist in the category up to 73 kg David Sanchez from Spain. Another athlete, eight-time African champion Karem Ben Khnia from Tunisia, was struggling with a left leg injury. He didn't train for two weeks, but stepped onto the platform to do a single snatch (141kg) and win a medal in the first event.
Having won bronze in the snatch, the Tunisian weightlifter subsequently abandoned the fight. In this way, 7 athletes had to challenge the medals in the clean and jerk and the combined total.
Of the six attempts, Gaygysyz realized three, gaining a total of 319 kg (snatch - 144, clean and jerk - 175). As a result, our compatriot was 6 kg ahead of Samuel Guertin (Canada) who performed in group B - 313 kg (140 + 173) and 39 kg behind the two-time world champion in 2021 and 2022 and the bronze medalist of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in the weight category up to 73 kg Rahmat Erwin Abdullah (Indonesia) - 358 kg (156 + 202).
19-year-old master of sports Gaygysyz Torayev started weightlifting in Sakarchage etrap with coach Shatlyk Durdygylyjov. Currently, he is improving his skills with the head coach of the national team Mansur Rejepov.
Turkmenistan at this tournament is represented by three weightlifters. In the men's weight category up to 89 kg, 23-year-old Shatlyk Shohradov will compete on the platform, and in the women's category up to 81 kg, the silver medalist of the 2020 Olympics in the weight category up to 59 kg Polina Guriyeva. This will be the first performance of the first Olympic medalist in the history of independent Turkmenistan after the birth of her daughter.
The Grand Prix of the International Weightlifting Federation in Havana will end on the 18th of June.
