The ‘North Korean weightlifting hero’ the world was curious about Lim Jeong Shim (30) was announced by her sister, Lim Eun Shim (27).
“Many people are curious about my sister’s news,” she said after winning the women’s weightlifting 64kg Group A competition at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Xiaoshan Sports Centre in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, with a lift of 111kg in the lift, 140kg in the snatch and 251kg in the total, “but she is no longer an athlete and is studying at university.”
Lim won the women’s 69kg weightlifting title at the 2012 London Olympics and topped the 75kg category at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
At the 2019 World Championships in Pattaya, she won gold in the 76kg category.
At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, Lim won gold in the women’s 75kg category and Lim Eun-sim won gold in the 69kg category.
North Korean weightlifting, once a threat to ‘superpower’ China, has been absent from the international scene since the 2019 Pattaya World Championships.
The country closed its borders to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after missing the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
He was allowed to compete internationally this year, but missed the first round of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Cuba Grand Prix in June and the World Championships in September after submitting only preliminary entries.
North Korean weightlifting’s return to the Olympic Games has been thwarted by a series of missed events that would have been crucial to its chances of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Games.
As North Korean weightlifting went into hiding, rumours began to circulate about Lim Jung Shim.
There was even talk of her joining North Korea as a coach at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
However, Lim Eun-sim, who is “most familiar with the news”, confirmed her sister’s current status.
Lim was the youngest member of the North Korean weightlifting team at the Jakarta-Palembang Games five years ago and competed as a ‘leader’ in Hangzhou.
He won by a comfortable margin over runner-up Fei Xin (18-China) with a total of 234kg (104kg lift – 130kg snatch).
“It was my goal to set a world record (261kg total), so I’m really disappointed that I couldn’t do it this time,” Lim said with a straight face.
When asked, “How did you train in the last four years when you were not able to compete in international competitions?”, she replied, “I also thought it was a shame when I was not able to compete in international competitions for four years. So I have a lot of thoughts to expand (the world record). That’s all,” he said, reiterating his disappointment at not breaking the world record.
When asked if he lifted more weight than the world record in training, Lim Eun-sim was embarrassed to say that he did not.
“There is already an assessment that North Korea has surpassed China in women’s weightlifting. Do you agree?”
In fact, North Korean athletes have won all four women’s weightlifting events at the Hangzhou Asian Games so far.
Lim was stumped, and Jang Jang-guk, an official who traditionally translates for medallists at major international events where North Korea has competed, took the microphone and said, “China is a strong team. We’ve been playing and training with them, and we’ve done well.” “When someone is ahead of us, it gives us strength. We will do our best to achieve better results,” he said, praising Chinese weightlifters.
Unaware that North Korean weightlifting has been banned from the Paris Olympics, the official told a foreign reporter who asked Lim Eun-sim about his “goals for the Paris Olympics”: “We will not go to the Paris Olympics. Instead, we will work hard on other preparations.” 스포츠토토