North Korean sport has never had a bigger star.

The diminutive but remarkably powerful Om Yun Chol had to do what only four other weightlifters have ever done - lift more than three times his own bodyweight - to claim his latest title here today. 

In the first medal event of the 2014 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships, Om was clearly below his best.

Competing in the lightest weight category for men, 56 kilograms he had given his all to win the Asian Games gold only six weeks earlier, over the border in South Korea.

"I was so stressed for that gold medal," said a surprisingly effusive Om after his triumph.

"Our country and South Korea are divided, and hostile.

"Our Supreme Leader [Kim Jong-un] told us before we left that we were going into battle, and we had to win."

Om won in Incheon, setting a world record in the process with a sensational clean-and-jerk of 170kg.

The effort clearly drained him and he had very little time to prepare for the World Championships.

He failed here with his first attempt at the snatch, which left him with much work to do in his favoured clean-and- jerk lifts.

After good lifts with his second and third attempts he had a snatch total of 128kg, a daunting seven kilograms off the lead and not enough for a place on the podium in that contest.

Om, 22, then failed with his first attempt in the clean- and-jerk, too.

He looked beaten, with two great Chinese rivals ready to pounce, and an even tougher opponent in Kim Tuan Thach from Vietnam.

Thach is 20, in his last year of eligibility as a junior - although any athlete aged 15 or more is also entitled to compete at the World Championships.

He smashed two junior world records in setting a total of 296kg, which looked good enough for the overall gold.

His 135kg in the snatch, in which he made his first two lifts look ridiculously easy, broke one record, and his 161kg clean-and-jerk gave him a record total.

Thach had finished second in Incheon and this was an improvement of two kilograms on his total there, an outstanding effort.

China's Li Fabin, the 2011 junior world champion, was in second place after the snatch but failed with his last two clean-and-jerk efforts and fell to fourth place.

Long Qingquan, the 2008 Olympic champion, also failed with his last two clean-and-jerks at 163kg, leaving Thach in first place.

The deciding factor when lifts are level is bodyweight - the lighter man wins.

Om weighed in just four grammes lower than Thach but that would make the difference if he could match Thach's effort.

He had to increase his previous lift by six kilograms to do it, taking the barbell to 168kg, just over three times his own weight.

He first achieved a triple-bodyweight lift when he won gold at the London Olympics, and he repeated the feat at Incheon 2014.

Here he did it for a third time, winning the clean-and-jerk gold, the coveted overall title, and the deep respect of his rivals.

North Korea's Om Yun Chol celebrates his gold medal at the IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Almaty's alongside silver medallist, Vietnam's Kim Tuan Thach, and bronze medallist, China's Long Qingquan ©IWF

He is the reigning Asian, World and Olympic champion and has made a triple-bodyweight lift in all three contests.

He said afterwards, "I am going to protect my titles.

"I will win in the [Rio] 2016 Olympics."

Thach was disappointed to lose so narrowly, but delighted with his records and full of praise for the victor.

"He is so good at the clean-and-jerk," he said.

"I admire him so much."

North Korean athletes are notoriously monosyllabic at press conferences, giving due praise to the Supreme Leader and the supportive people of North Korea, but saying little else.

Om was different – he appeared to enjoy talking to the media much more than making his lifts.

"I was so afraid of losing because I put so much effort into winning at the Asian Games only a few weeks ago," he said.

"In the 2012 Olympics I beat Mr Wu from China [Wu Jingbiao] and in 2013 I beat Mr Long from China, who is sitting here beside me [bronze medallist Long Qingquan].

"China is such a big country, it has so many weightlifters, so many opportunities to win, and we are a much smaller country - but I have beaten them and I will beat them again.

"I will protect my gold medals."

Vietnam's Kim Tuan Thach set a world junior record in the 56kg at the IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Almaty ©IWF

When asked what his favourite food was, Om gave a straightforward answer.

"I like only the Korean national dishes, especially kimchi [fermented vegetables]."

And how good could he become?

What are his best lifts in training, in the snatch and the clean-and-jerk.

"I'm not telling you," he smiled.

"That's secret."

The next World Championships are in Houston, Texas, a year from now.

The Americans will love Om.

He truly is, as they would say, a Phenom.


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September 2014: Om Yun-Chol breaks weightlifting world record to win first North Korean gold of Incheon 2014
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