Tian Tao
Tian at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
NationalityChinese
Born (1994-04-08) 8 April 1994 (age 30)
Hubei, China
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) [citation needed]
Weight89 kg (196 lb)
Sport
CountryChina
SportWeightlifting
Event–89 kg
ClubHubei Province
Coached byYu Jie[1]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Snatch: 181 kg (2018)
  • Clean and jerk: 231 kg (2019 CWR[2])
  • Total: 410 kg (2019)

Tian Tao (Chinese: 田涛; pinyin: Tián Tāo; born 8 April 1994) is a Chinese weightlifter, Olympian, World Champion, Asian Champion and Asian Games Champion competing in the 85 kg division until 2018 and 96 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories.[3]

Career

Tao took up weightlifting in Changyang at ten years of age.[1] He first rose to national prominence after winning the 77 kg category of the Chinese Intercity Games in October 2011 at the age of 17.[4] Although not recognized for not being an international event, his lifts far exceeded the official Youth World Records (by 6/23/35 kg respectively),[5] the jerk of 205 kg even beating the Junior World Record by 3 kg.[6]

Tian's next competition was the April 2012 National Championships where he attempted to qualify for the London Olympic Games. With his total of 365 kg he was however beaten by Lu Haojie and Lu Xiaojun to third place and didn't make the national team.[citation needed] During his second attempt in the jerk with 211 kg he also injured his right elbow and had to rehab for the rest of the year.[7]

In 2013, he moved up to the 85 kg class and competed in January at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, winning the bronze medal.[8] In the March National Championships he won the snatch with 165 kg but had to retire early again due to injury after only one successful jerk, not placing on the overall podium.[9] Later this year in September at the domestically prestigious Chinese National Games he placed third with only two good attempts.[10] He was nevertheless chosen to represent China at the 2013 World Championships, where he was forced to drop out after the snatch part of the competition.[11]

Major results

Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
Olympic Games
2016 Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 85 kg 173 178 178 2 210 210 217 OR 2 395 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships
2013 Poland Wrocław, Poland 85 kg 160 165 165 9
2014 Kazakhstan Almaty, Kazakhstan 85 kg 165 170 175 6 205 211 219 5 375 6
2015 United States Houston, United States 85 kg 173 178 178 1st place, gold medalist(s) 211 211 211
2018 Turkmenistan Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 96 kg 175 181 181 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 215 226 WR 236 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 407 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2019 Thailand Pattaya, Thailand 96 kg 175 175 180 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 218 225 230 1st place, gold medalist(s) 410 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2022 Colombia Bogotá, Colombia 89 kg
2023 Saudi Arabia Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 89 kg 168 173 176 7 209 212 214
Asian Games
2014 South Korea Incheon, South Korea 85 kg 163 168 168 5 205 211 218 1 381 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2023 China Hangzhou, China 96 kg 170 175 180 1 210 210 216 2 390 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Asian Championships
2019 China Ningbo, China 96 kg 175 181 183 1st place, gold medalist(s) 220 231 231 1st place, gold medalist(s) 401 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2020 Uzbekistan Tashkent, Uzbekistan 96 kg 170 175 180 1st place, gold medalist(s) 210 211 1st place, gold medalist(s) 386 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2023 South Korea Jinju, South Korea 89 kg 165 172 172 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 210 222 222 CWR 1st place, gold medalist(s) 387 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
IWF World Cup
2024 Thailand Phuket, Thailand 89 kg 171 176 177 4 215 226 226

References

External links