The men's 61kg weightlifting category will be contested at 8:00 p.m. today (August 7). This is also the last competition and event in which the Vietnamese sports delegation hopes to win a medal. First, the strongest opponent in the men's 61kg weightlifting category is Li Fabin (China). This is the person who holds the world record as well as the Olympic record.

Li Fabin (China), the strongest athlete in the men's 61kg class in weightlifting (Photo: Getty).

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Li Fabin set a record of 313kg in total lift. Previously, at the 2019 World Championships in Pattaya (Thailand), Li Fabin set a world record with a total lift of 318kg. Trinh Van Vinh's second biggest rival is Yuli Irawan (Indonesia). The athlete from the archipelago country once had the best total lift in the men's 61kg weight class of 317kg, achieved at the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan). Yuli Irawan won two consecutive Olympic silver medals, including the 2016 Rio Olympics (Brazil) and the 2020 Tokyo (Japan). In Rio in 2016, Yuli Irawan competed in the men's 62kg weight class, achieving a total lift of 312kg. At Tokyo 2020, the Indonesian athlete competed in the men's 61kg weight class, with a total lift of 302kg.

Yuli Irawan (Indonesia), current Olympic runner-up, current SEA Games champion (Photo: Getty).

In the previous two Olympics, in Beijing (China) in 2008 and London (England) in 2012, Yuli Irawan consecutively won bronze medals, respectively in the men's 56kg and 62kg weight classes. That means Yuli Irawan is very experienced in the Olympic arena. However, the biggest obstacle for this Indonesian athlete is that he is quite old (35 years old). At the SEA Games last year in Cambodia, Yuli Irawan still won the gold medal in the men's 61kg weight class, but his total lift was only 303kg. Trinh Van Vinh's next big opponent is Hampton Morris (USA). He has the best total lift of 303kg. Also in the men's 61kg weight class in weightlifting, Sergio Massidda (Italy) has the highest total lift of his career of 302kg.

Weightlifter Trinh Van Vinh is a hope in weightlifting, having achieved the best total lift of 307kg (Photo: Getty)..

Speaking of achievements, Trinh Van Vinh also had a fairly high total lift: 307kg, achieved at the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). However, similar to Yuli Irawan's achievement at the 2018 World Championship, the 307kg total lift occurred quite a long time ago, 7 years ago. Being banned from competing for 4 years since 2019, due to being found positive for doping, has greatly affected Trinh Van Vinh's performance. The Vietnamese weightlifter only returned in 2023, before winning a ticket to the Olympics in April this year. Hopefully, from April until now, Trinh Van Vinh has had specialized training to regain his old form, aiming for the 307kg total lift milestone he once had. Trinh Van Vinh's advantage is that he is still quite young compared to Yuli Irawan (28 years old compared to 35 years old), in theory, Trinh Van Vinh's ability to regain his form is higher than Yuli Irawan's. If Trinh Van Vinh regains the 307kg mark in total lift, he can win a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, even a silver medal.