San Francisco Frontiers - 'World records not enough': North Korea weightlifters target Olympic gold rush

The secretive nation has been the dominant force in global weightlifting since emerging from self-imposed Covid exile to smash six world records at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. They also won six golds.

At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan this week North Korea's strongwomen and men have taken four gold medals and two silvers from six events so far.

They had also set seven world records by Friday night, less than halfway through the seven-day weightlifting programme.

Ri Song Gum started the avalanche with gold and three world records in the women's 49kg class.

Asked if she would consider moving up to 53kg, the lowest women's category at the next Olympics, the pocket powerhouse replied "Yes" as the 28-year-old chases the only title missing from her collection.

She will face competition from within as compatriot Kang Hyon Gong was also dominant in winning the women's 53kg gold a few hours later.

Oh Kwang Ok then set three more world records on her way to women's 57kg gold on Friday.

"The Olympic Games in 2028 is my target," Oh said in response to a question from AFP.

"I will try my best to win gold in Los Angeles. The world records are not enough."

- First Olympics for 12 years -

North Korea did not send any athletes to the delayed Tokyo Olympics as it sealed its borders during the pandemic.

After the Hangzhou Asian Games in September 2023 it was too late to qualify for Olympic weightlifting at Paris 2024.

Since then North Korea have become an unstoppable force, especially in the sport's lighter bodyweight classes.

At the 2024 world championships in Manama, Bahrain, they were utterly dominant, winning 45 medals across all categories, 26 of them gold, with China next best on 14.

A year ago in Norway, North Korea topped the standings by a distance again with 17 golds.

It is a remarkable record for an impoverished country where food is in short supply.

"The North Korean regime has long viewed sports as a powerful propaganda tool and makes use of sporting success to spread its narratives about the strength of socialist ideology," Shreyas Reddy, a North Korea analyst at the website NK News, told AFP.

He added that the Pyongyang sporting authorities focus their meagre resources very scientifically.

"Rather than chasing success in events where victory can come down to natural-born brilliance and flair, North Korea's sporting authorities instead pour their limited resources into sports that rely on more controllable elements, like strength and technique," Reddy added.

Sports such as weightlifting send coaches to primary schools to handpick children with the right physical attributes and potential for intense training and support.

"Coaches develop them into physically powerful and technically consistent competitors," Reddy said.

Where other Asian Games nations are wearing brand-new kit for Nagoya, North Korea seem to be making do with the same team vests and tracksuits used for a decade or more.

- 'We are world leaders' -

The latest fashion statement doesn't matter to North Korea, but nutrition does, so athletes receive the best available diet.

"Despite North Korea's well-documented food scarcity issues, the regime strategically allocates its limited resources to sports where it believes it has the best chance of success" Reddy added.

The success post-Covid has naturally raised questions about what North Korean weightlifters were doing while the borders were sealed to the outside world.

But world doping authorities are back in the country.

In January 2024, the World Anti-Doping Agency lifted non-compliant restrictions on North Korea after testing missions were resumed.

The following month the International Testing Agency (ITA) conducted out-of-competition testing inside North Korea for the first time in four years.

The country's athletes are subject to international standard testing now like everyone else and, according to their officials, there is no secret to their success.

"Our athletes put in so much hard work," Jang Song Nam, manager of the North Korean weightlifting team, told AFP.

"Every gold medal is payback for our hardship over four years (of Covid isolation). "We are world leaders now."

B.Ramirez--SFF