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Liu Huanhua
	Liu at the 2024 Olympics
Personal information
Nickname	Gigachad
Nationality	Chinese
Born	20 August 2001 (age 23); Jiahe County, Chenzhou, Hunan, China
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	101.84 kg (224.5 lb)
Sport
Country	China
Sport	Weightlifting
Event	–102 kg
Club	Tianjin Province
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	Snatch: 186 kg (2024); Clean & Jerk: 233 kg (2023, GR); Total: 418 kg (2023, GR);
Medal record
Men's weightlifting
Representing China
Olympic Games
World Championships
IWF World Cup
Asian Games
Asian Championships
National Games of China

Liu Huanhua (Chinese: 刘焕华^[2]; pinyin: Liú Huànhuá; born 20 August 2001) is a Chinese weightlifter^[3] currently competing in the men's 102 kg category. He is also the current senior world record holder for both the clean and jerk and the total in his weight class.

Liu won a gold medal in the men's 102 kg category at the 2024 Summer Olympics by lifting total of 406 kg. He became the first male weightlifting Olympic champion from China that weighed more than 100 kg.^[4]

Career

Early career

Liu became involved in the sport of weightlifting in Chenzhou at the age of 13, where he was soon identified and drafted by the coach of the Tianjin weightlifting team.^[5]

His first recorded appearance was at the 2018 China Youth Championships, competing in the men's 77 kg class. He finished first in both the snatch and clean and jerk, winning a gold medal.^[6]

In 2021, Liu advanced to the men's 81 kg class at the 14th National Games of China held in Shaanxi. His performances resulted in a third-place finish overall.^[7]

2022-2023

The subsequent year saw Liu further increasing his weight class to the men's 89 kg, where he competed in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships held in Bogotá. He finished in sixth place in the snatch event and third in the clean and jerk, culminating in an overall bronze medal finish.^[8]

In 2023, Liu continued his upward trajectory in weight class, participating in the men's 96 kg category at the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju. His performances resulted with an overall first-place finish, earning him a gold medal. This was achieved through securing first place in the snatch and second place in the clean and jerk. Of note was his 89.48 kg bodyweight, which gave most of his competitors a body weight advantage.^[9]

Liu then made another jump in weight class for the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, moving into the men's 102 kg. He ranked fourth in the snatch and first in the clean and jerk, ultimately resulting in an overall gold medal and marking his first world championship victory.^[10]

Liu again, made another jump in weight class for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, moving up to the men's 109 kg category. He ranked second in the snatch and first in the clean and jerk, getting a gold medal in the total. He weighed in at 100.8 kg making him eligible to compete in the 102 kg class but the Asian Games used the former Summer Olympic categories, thus forcing him to move up to a class in to the 109's. His lifts of 233 kg in the clean & jerk and 418 kg in the total would break the world standards and would set new world records but since he competed in the 109's his records would not be recorded in the 102's.^[11]

Major results

Year	Venue	Weight	Snatch (kg)				Clean & Jerk (kg)				Total	Rank
Year	Venue	Weight	1	2	3	Rank	1	2	3	Rank	Total	Rank
Olympic Games
2024	Paris, France	102 kg	178	183	186	—	220	~~228~~	~~233~~	—	406
World Championships
2022	Bogotá, Colombia	89 kg	160	166	~~171~~	6	205	211	215		381
2023	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	102 kg	171	176	180	4	~~215~~	221	224		404
IWF World Cup
2024	Phuket, Thailand	102 kg	175	181	~~186~~	5	220	225	232 CWR		413 CWR
IWF Grand Prix
2023	Doha, Qatar	102 kg	170	~~176~~	176	4	210	222	~~225~~		398
Asian Games
2023	Hangzhou, China	109 kg	~~175~~	180	185	—	215	227	233	—	418
Asian Championships
2023	Jinju, South Korea	96 kg	~~170~~	170	175		210	~~223~~	~~223~~		385