Georgian wins first gold at Rio Olympic Games, sets new world record

Georgian weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze, 22, has won the first gold for his country at the Rio Olympic Games and set a new world record in the clean and jerk. 

The competition started at 2am this morning and continued for about two hours. 

Talakhadze was competing in the 105kg category. 

 At the 2016 Olympics, the weightlifter completed a snatch of 215kg, breaking the world record of 214kg set by Iranian Behdad Salimi, who then took the record back with a lift of 216 kg. The Georgian athlete then completed a clean and jerk of 258kg to set a new world record of 473kg and with this he won the gold medal. 

At the same competition fellow Georgian weightlifter in the same 105kg category, Irakli Turmanidze, 32, won bronze. 

Lasha Talakhadze (L) and Irakli Turmanidze after winning their Olympic medals.  

Yesterday Shmagi Bolkvadze, a Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler in 66kg category, won bronze at the Rio Olympic Games. 

Shmagi Bolkvadze won bronze at the Rio Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling. 

Earlier Georgian wrestler Varlam Lipartleliani and Lasha Shavdatuashvili won silver and bronze medals at the prestigious competition.