Three European records fall at powerlifting Euros

Russia’s Vera Muratova and Poland’s Marzena Zieba highlighted the women’s up to 79kg and up to 86kg respectively.

European records for Polish and Russian powerlifters made for the perfect end to the 2015 IPC Powerlifting European Open Championships in Eger, Hungary, on Saturday (28 November).

Russia’s Vera Muratova and Poland’s Marzena Zieba highlighted the women’s up to 79kg and over 86kg respectively.

Muratova’s teammate Petr Filatov was also dominant in the hotly anticipated men’s over 107kg.

Filatov broke the European record with a second attempt of 225kg, before going on to add to it again with a third round flourish of 228kg.

In doing so the 27-year-old, weighing in at 165.60kg, claimed Open and European gold.

Egypt’s Amr Mosaad left it until the final round to complete his 222kg best and steal Open silver.

Hungary’s Sandor Sas (216kg) left with European silver and Open bronze ahead of the slightly heavier Konstantinous Dimou (216kg) of Greece with European bronze.

Chinese Taipei’s world champion Tzu-Hui Lin (127kg) won Open gold in the women’s up to 79kg.

Muratova added an astonishing 16kg onto the European record with a 124kg haul. In doing so, the Russian also took the regional title and Open silver.

Ukraine’s Lyubov Semenyuk (106kg) finished with European silver and Open bronze. Russia’s Nadezhda Sycheva (90kg) rounded off the European podium.

China’s Ruifang Li (133kg) completed three good lifts to take Open gold in the women’s over 86kg. The win sees Li complete a 100 per cent podium record, having only made her international debut at the Asian Open Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in July, where she won silver.

Zieba added 7kg onto the European record to take the title and Open silver with 127kg.

The Netherlands’ Melaica Tuinfort (123kg) claimed European silver and Open bronze. Russia’s Svetlana Khairtdinova (117kg) was third on the European podium.

In the women’s up to 86kg Fengmi Li (120kg) completed a double gold medal haul for China. Two good lifts allowed Li to secure victory over Russia’s Olga Kazankevich (115kg), the European champion in the women’s up to 79kg from 2013.

Kazankevich takes home European gold and Open silver, whilst the UAE’s Haifa Naqbi (110kg) took Open bronze.

China take first place in the medals table with 17 podiums, including 11 gold, four silver and two bronze. Russia are the highest European finishers with nine medals (three golds), followed by Greece with two golds.

Four world and four European records have been broken in total at Eger 2015.

Full results are available at the event mirosite.

Around 230 lifters from more than 40 countries competed in Eger for the final regional Championships of 2015. An Americas Open Championships was held in Mexico City in April and an Asian Open in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in July. The competition was also a Paralympic ranking competition for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.