Bulgarian Weightlifter Bozhidar Andreev Claims Olympic Bronze Medal

Bozhidar Andreev secured a bronze medal for Bulgaria in the 73 kg weightlifting category at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Andreev finished third with a total lift of 344 kg—154 kg in the snatch and 190 kg in the clean and jerk. The gold medal was claimed by Indonesia's Rizki Juniansyah, who lifted a combined 354 kg, while Thailand's Weeraphon Wichuma took silver.

Andreev, hailing from Sliven, successfully completed all three of his snatch attempts, lifting 148 kg, 152 kg, and 154 kg. His flawless performance in the snatch secured him fourth place before moving on to the clean and jerk.

In the clean and jerk, Andreev opened with a successful lift at 181 kg, followed by another strong attempt at 187 kg. He then completed his final lift at 190 kg, solidifying his bronze medal position.

Andreev's first attempt in the snatch was at 148 kg, which he managed without any issues. At the European Championships in Bulgaria, he snatched 155 kg, and his personal best in this lift is 157 kg, which earned him a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships in Thailand. Andreev's next successful lifts were at 151 kg and 154 kg, positioning him in fourth place before the clean and jerk.

The Olympic weightlifting event took place in Arena 6 of the Paris Expo Center, the same venue that hosted the group stage matches for the men's and women's handball tournaments.

Andreev was the second Bulgarian weightlifter to compete in the Paris 2024 Games. Earlier, Ivan Dimov did not advance in the 61 kg category after failing all three snatch attempts. Karlos Nasar is scheduled to compete for gold in the 89 kg category on August 9 at 4 p.m.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Andreev finished fifth with a total of 338 kg—154 kg in the snatch and 184 kg in the...