The Olympic qualification system for weightlifting meant that most of the athletes were scrambling for last-minute tickets to Paris, with a lot of unreal results and many zeros, but also with 15 world records and some incredible performances. The qualification system was set up to make the World Cup the decisive event, with all athletes fighting for the top 10 in each class.

However, they were also fighting to beat their own teammates in their weight classes, as there can only be one athlete per NOC in each weight class. In some cases they were also competing against teammates from other weight categories, as there can only be three athletes per NOC in both men's and women's events.

In the last two years, athletes have competed to show big totals, but all that could be wiped out during the World Cup. There have been athletes who have been at the top of the Olympic rankings throughout the qualifying rounds, only to be unseated by their own teammates at the last second. 

There are Olympic champions and medallists, world champions and continental stars who will miss out on Paris 2024. Is that fair? Not really, but that is the price of keeping this sport in the Olympic Games.

The IWF was forced to reduce the number of athletes competing in the Olympic Games and it had to make the men's and women's categories equal, with only 12 athletes in each weight class. They had to take measures to reduce the number of doping cases. And let's hope they won that battle.

Many athletes and even NOC's suffered from this decision, but that is the price. And that is why we witnessed one of the best weightlifting tournaments in Phuket. Perhaps it was even better than it will be in Paris because many of the world's best weightlifters won't be there.

No North Korea

First of all, North Korea won't be at the Olympics. They're undoubtedly the strongest national team at the moment, even stronger than China, but they missed the chance to qualify and their National Olympic Committee (PRK NOC) was banned by the IOC in September 2021 after failing to show up for Tokyo 2020.

Once the ban was lifted, the only way for North Korean weightlifters to qualify for Paris 2024 was to compete at the IWF Grand Prix in June 2023 and the 2023 World Championships in September 2023. However, for reasons unknown, they failed to turn up. 

After the World Championships, North Korean athletes dominated the 2023 Asian Games in China, the 2024 Asian Championships in Uzbekistan and now the 2024 World Cup. Six world records and eight gold medals in Phuket showed that North Korea would be a real threat in Paris, but they won't be, much to the delight of the other weightlifters. 

Many of them don't trust North Korean athletes because of the lack of testing and they are usually only tested by the NADO (National Anti-Doping Agency). To be honest, they have done several out-of-competition tests in recent months.

"Despite the challenges, the ITA has also been able to successfully conduct out-of-competition testing on DPRK weightlifters through an independent Sample Collection Provider in recent months," the Independent Testing Agency (ITA) told NK News. So the strongest national weightlifting team won't be in Paris.

Last second grabs

There were many athletes who grabbed their Olympic chance at the last second. Some of them jumped into the top 10 with career-best results. But some of the results were absolutely stunning and we saw some real drama on the podium.

Few could have predicted that world record holder, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist and two-time world champion Erwin Rahmat of Indonesia would miss out on the Olympic Games. He was sitting comfortably at the top of the men's -73 kg category with a total of 363 kg. He had set new world records in the clean and jerk and total a few months earlier in Tashkent. 

The only man who could stop him was his team-mate Rizki Juniansyah, runner-up at the World Championships in 2022. He had a personal best of 349 kg and had missed many competitions due to injury. Rizki was 4 kg ahead of Rahmat after the snatch in Phuket.

He needed 201 kg to overtake Rahmat in the Olympic rankings, just 1 kg short of the world record. And 20-year-old Rizki did it with his second attempt, setting a new world record in the total. Rahmat had to go for 206 kg, but it was not real and one of the brightest stars of modern weightlifting will miss Paris 2024.

There was another great upset in the women's 59 kg. Hidilyn Diaz, Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020, didn't feel comfortable in the 59 kg category, but her total of 224 kg was good enough to finish in the top 10. 

However, she was overtaken by her own team-mate Elreen Ando, who had been 2 kg behind her before the World Cup. Ando had a total of 228 kg in Phuket, while Diaz could not beat her personal best and finished with 222 kg. Ando moved up to seventh in the world rankings and secured her place at Paris 2024. 

Junior world record holder Garik Karapetyan (Armenia) had been trailing his team-mate Samvel Gasparyan throughout the qualifying rounds, but he put in a fantastic performance in Phuket to finish second at the last moment. With a total of 401 kg he overtook Gasparyan, who didn't even compete in the clean and jerk after only one successful snatch attempt.

Karapetyan's performance was overshadowed by world champion Liu Huanhua. Nicknamed "Gigachad", Liu started the qualifying cycle in the men's 85 kg category, but failed to beat his teammates Li Dayin and Tian Tao and moved up two weight classes to become the best athlete in the new category. Huanhua set new world records in the clean and jerk (232 kg) and total (413) in Phuket. 

With Olympic champions Meso Hessona of Qatar (who missed the World Championships due to injury) and Akbar Djuraev of Uzbekistan (who competed in the 109 kg category in Phuket) back in Paris, Lesman Paredes back in Olympic form and young Garik Karapetyan, we can expect a real battle for the gold medal in August.

Another star name that will be missing from Paris 2024 is Jiang Huihua (China). The four-time and reigning 49 kg world champion had the best total and led the ranking with 416 kg, but she had a very dangerous opponent. Tokyo 2020 champion Hou Zhihui was 5 kg behind her and she closed the gap in Phuket. 

Hou set a new world record in the snatch with 97 kg and needed 120 kg in the clean and jerk to overtake her team-mate, clearing the bar at the last attempt. The competition was won by Ri Song Gum of North Korea with a world record total of 221 kg, but the real winner was Hou, who secured her place in Paris.

Ecuador had two strong competitors in the women's 81 kg category. Neisi Dajomes, Tokyo 2020 champion in the 76 kg category, and Tamara Salazar, Tokyo 2020 runner-up in the 87 kg category, fought for the only place. Salazar had a total of 265 kg in Havana in June 2023, but missed the World Championships in 2023 and the Pan American Championships in 2024 due to injury.

Dajomes, who snatched 260 kg in Havana, came close in Caracas with 262 kg. As Salazar also missed the World Cup, she was hoping that Dajomes would not overtake her, but the Tokyo 2020 champion gave her best, lifting 123 kg in the snatch and 143 kg on the first attempt in the clean and jerk for a total of 266 kg. Dahomes finished with 269 kg to claim the gold medal and a ticket to Paris.

Other stars missing the Olympics

Iran's Reza Dehdar, runner-up at the 2022 World Championships in the 102 kg category, missed out on the top 10 by finishing 11th. Two-time Pan American Games champion Jhonatan Rivas Mosquera (Colombia) also failed to qualify in the men's 102kg. Another former 102 kg world runner-up, Jin Yun-seong (2019 and 2021), lost out to his team-mate, 2023 world runner-up Jang Yeon-hak.

Women's -64 kg World champion Pei Xinyi (China) could not beat her team-mate Shifang Luo. Two-time World champion Thanyathon Sukcharoen (Thailand) lost to team-mate Surodchana Khambao in the women's -49kg category. The 2021 World Champion Son Young-hee (Korea) was third in the women's +87 kg, but her team-mate Park Hye-jeong, the 2023 World champion, did even better.

Former world record holder in the men's -89 kg category, Tian Tao, did his best to beat his team-mate Li Dayin's total of 396 kg, but his attempt at a world record of 226 kg was not realistic.

Simon Martirosyan, runner-up at Tokyo 2020 (109 kg), had to change weight class after his weight category was removed from the Olympic Games. He moved up to super-heavyweight and was a top 5 athlete in the Olympic rankings, but his team-mate Varazdat Lalayan was still far better.

China still to decide

The Chinese are top of the Olympic rankings in all women's weight categories. They have five top stars, but will only need to select three of them to compete at Paris 2024. Hou Zhihui (49 kg), Shifang Lou (59 kg), Guifang Liao (71 kg), Xiaomei Liang (81 kg), Wenwen Li (+81 kg) are all world record holders and real contenders for the gold medal, but two of them will not be able to compete.

The situation in the men's event is very similar. Four world-class athletes and gold medal contenders have the chance to compete at Paris 2024. The coaches will have to choose between Li Fabin (61 kg), Shi Zhiyong (73 kg), Li Dayin (89 kg) and Liu Huanhua (102 kg). With Fabin and Huanhua dominating in their respective divisions, Li Dayin and Shi Zhiyong are the two contenders for elimination. 

The IWF will allocate the remaining quotas after the final confirmation of the NOCs. With 12 athletes competing in each of the 10 weight classes, let's hope the competition in Paris will be even more breathtaking than in Phuket.