Olympics 2024: Siuzanna Valodzka’s personal record

On 9 August, Belarusian athletes at the Olympic Games in the French capital competed in weightlifting and freestyle wrestling.

At Paris du Sud Arena Siuzanna Valodzka, a medalist of the European Weightlifting Championships, competed for medals with the world’s best athletes in the 71kg category.

The Belarusian placed fifth in the snatch, lifting 108kg and 111kg, but failed her 113kg attempt. Olivia Reeves of the United States placed first in the exercise with 117kg.

 
In weightlifting, the final places are often decided following the second exercise – clean and jerk. Siuzanna Valodzka lifted 135kg in the clean and jerk. Her following attempts with 140kg and 142kg were unsuccessful. The Belarusian finished one step from the podium with a total of 246kg.

 
Siuzanna Valodzka commented on her fourth place at the 2024 Olympic Games:

“I was happy with the sixth place at the World Weightlifting Championships, but here at the Games I was a bit disappointing about the fourth place. I lifted heavier weights in training. I did well with 111kg in the snatch. It is also the record for Belarus. I believe I performed well here in Paris, but I still need to work for a medal,” Siuzanna Valodzka said.

Head coach Valery Sizenok commented on the performance of the athlete:

“Siuzanna made part of the national team two and a half years ago. This time was enough for her to qualify for the Olympics. This is a significant progress. In Paris, we faced our old mistake at heavy weights. At 140kg she pulled the barbell a little bit on herself and found it hard to make the pull. Going with 142kg she corrected the mistake, but still could not cope with the weight. If she had lifted 142kg, we would have joined the tight competition for the Olympic podium. I would like to note that Siuzanna Valodzka’s main focus is on the 2028 Los Angeles Games,” Valery Sizenok said.

2020 Tokyo silver medalist Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau was thoroughly preparing for the Paris Games. It seemed that the full readiness of one of the team leaders was undoubted. However, the opening bout at the Champ-de-Mars Arena did not work out for the Belarusian wrestler. Kadzimahamedau lost 0-8 to Razambek Zhamalov. The Belarusian could get a second chance if his opponent from Uzbekistan was to reach the final. Zhamalov managed to get into the gold-medal bout, and Kadzimahamedau will try to make it into the bronze-medal bout through a series of repechage on 10 August.

“There were moments in the second period of the bout when Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau could have seized the initiative. We had a group of very strong opponents, and it is good that Zhamalov has reached the final. As for Kadzimahamedau’s readiness, it is very good. The athlete always takes a responsible approach to such important competitions,” head coach Ivan Yankovsky said.

On Saturday, 10 August, Uladzislau Kravets will compete in the men’s K-1 1000m final. Yuliya Turhskina will target a spot in the women’s C-1 200m final. Yauheni Tsikhantsou will compete for the Olympic medal in the men’s 102kg weightlifting.

Press service of the NOC of Belarus
Photos by the NOC of Belarus