Chapter 426: A Battle of Immortals

Chapter 426: Gods at War

Meng Fan had posted a result surpassing the world record during the domestic selection rounds, and athletes like Tarahadiz naturally knew about it and had watched the competition videos. They harbored varying degrees of doubt about its authenticity—after all, China had seen lifters in this weight class who performed brilliantly at home but faltered on the international stage. Whether Meng Fan would follow that pattern remained uncertain.

After two bouts in wrestling and judo, though unrelated to weightlifting, they had inevitably affected perceptions, raising the credibility of that result.

It was for this reason that Tarahadiz chose to change his weight.

First, he was unaccustomed to—and disliked—having a competitor still absent when he was about to take his second attempt. Second, he wanted to force Meng Fan’s hand, to see what his true strength really looked like, so he could respond in the remaining two attempts.

If he didn’t change now and Meng Fan lifted the same weight, he would have only one attempt left to counter, leaving him at a disadvantage.

He changed his weight to match Meng Fan’s: 218 kilograms, also aiming to break the snatch world record he had set after the weight class reform.

According to the rules, lifters with the same weight compete in order of their numbers, and his number was higher than Meng Fan’s. This change forced Meng Fan to lift first, and Meng Fan had no further opportunity to alter his weight, while Tarahadiz still did.

If Meng Fan actually succeeded, Tarahadiz would change his weight again.

Because under the rules, if the final results are identical, the one who lifts first wins. That is, if Meng Fan lifted first, Tarahadiz would continue to adjust, raising to 119 kilograms to ensure he could suppress Meng Fan on his second attempt.

Though he had lost the chance to dominate on the first attempt, he still had a guaranteed result from that lift, giving Tarahadiz a psychological edge.

Of course, the reason Tarahadiz dared to make such a change was that he possessed the strength to lift over 218 kilograms; otherwise, this adjustment would backfire.

In other words, if Meng Fan lacked absolute strength, such a change would be reckless.

“Is it my turn?”

Backstage, Meng Fan learned that only one person remained with second and third attempts left, while everyone else had completed three lifts. Hearing that the sole remaining lifter had changed his weight and that he would go first, he stood up from his seat and handed the jacket draped over him to Dean Zhan beside him.

He had already warmed up beforehand, and though he had high-tech thermal wear to maintain his warm state, he still wore the jacket for appearances.

Meng Fan stepped out to applause and cheers. Today, the weightlifting arena at the Kyoto International Forum Building was packed with Chinese spectators. Weightlifting has always been a strong suit for China, and many people habitually buy package tickets, naturally including these two heavyweight events. Moreover, since Meng Fan was competing, even those who hadn’t planned to buy package tickets did so.

Not only Chinese spectators but also audiences from other countries applauded. Regardless of Meng Fan’s fame and strength, the mere fact that he challenged the existing world record on his first attempt deserved everyone’s recognition.

Additionally, Meng Fan’s presence on stage was distinctly different from other athletes. In this heaviest weight class, most lifters were massive, with enormous bellies as a standard feature of weightlifting belts. Meng Fan, though heavy, was muscular—hardly any belly at all, almost showing eight-pack abs.

And crucially, he was incredibly handsome!

Even in his weightlifting suit, he exuded the aura of a top model closing a fashion show.

“Handsome is useless! On the Olympic stage, strength speaks!”

Amid the praise, there were inevitably sour remarks—from those who favored Tarahadiz or doubted Meng Fan, for excellence invites both admiration and resentment.

Of course, they were right: on the Olympic stage, good looks indeed mattered little; everything depended on strength.

Better to lift well than to look good; if you can’t lift, good looks are worthless.

But what about someone who both looks good and lifts well?

There might not have been a fitting term before, but after Meng Fan’s sequence—entering, bowing, stepping up, bending, gripping the bar, pulling, and stabilizing—a new descriptor emerged: “Very Meng Fan!”

Or simply “Very Iron,” abbreviated as “Very Tie”—lifting, after all, demands the quality of iron: hardness.

“Meng Fan has lifted it!”

“Three white lights! The lift is valid!”

“218 kilograms!”

“A world record!”

“This breaks the snatch world record for the 109+ kg category!”

In the live broadcast on CCTV-5, commentator Zhou Yingjie, who shared a special connection with Meng Fan, nearly shouted, his excitement palpable!

“This is the second time Meng Fan has lifted this weight in competition, the first being at the domestic selection. But due to IWF regulations, even though Meng Fan exceeded the world record domestically, it couldn’t count as a record. Now, it does!”

“On his very first appearance in Olympic weightlifting, Meng Fan has broken a world record!”

“During the previous Olympic weightlifting continental qualifiers, Meng Fan’s results were very moderate. Many probably thought his domestic performance was inflated. Now it’s clear: this was a tactic by Meng Fan and his coach, Dean Zhan, engaging in psychological warfare from the qualifiers onward!”

“Earlier, Tarahadiz changed his weight to force Meng Fan’s hand. Now that Meng Fan has succeeded, we’ll see what Tarahadiz plans. If this were a World Championship or other event where snatch, clean and jerk, and total are ranked separately, Tarahadiz would definitely add more weight. Otherwise, even lifting 218 would only earn him second place.”

“In the Olympics, only the total counts. If Tarahadiz lifts 218, it won’t affect the total unless the two end up tied, in which case Meng Fan would have the advantage.”

“Will Tarahadiz settle for second place going into the clean and jerk? Or will he secure 218 on his second attempt and add weight on his third?”

“He’s changed! Tarahadiz has changed to 219 kilograms!”

Listening to Zhou Yingjie’s commentary, the audience gained a clearer picture of the situation. Ultimately, this weightlifting event boiled down to a duel between Meng Fan and Tarahadiz; everyone else was vying for third place.

Tarahadiz naturally had to change his weight. If he lifted 218 like Meng Fan, the impact on ranking was secondary; the key was the psychological effect.

To him, 218 and 219 were not vastly different—he had lifted both in competition. If he performed well, either weight was the same.

Since they were equal, he chose 219. He couldn’t afford to lose momentum—this momentum affected both Meng Fan and himself. If he settled for 218, he would lose psychologically, which might directly prevent him from even lifting 218.

Tarahadiz indeed possessed formidable strength. Years ago, he had snatched 220 kilograms. On stage, fully focused, in good form, and with no lack of competitive drive, his desire for victory went without saying.

This second attempt was rock solid!

Three white lights, valid lift!

In less than three minutes, the world record just broken by Meng Fan was shattered again, and the record Meng Fan had claimed returned to Tarahadiz’s hands.

Clang!

After the successful lift, Tarahadiz dropped the barbell onto the platform, bowed to the audience, and glanced up at the display screen to confirm his result before stepping off.

This gesture had no impact on the competition; it was merely his habit—he liked seeing his weight number dominate above all other lifters.

Backstage, he learned from his coaching team that Meng Fan had submitted a second-attempt weight of 221 kilograms!

This was another weight surpassing his newly set world record and just one kilogram above his personal best of 220 kilograms in competition!

This put both him and his coaches in a dilemma again.

His third attempt was originally planned at 220 kilograms to challenge his best, but Meng Fan had chosen a higher weight. If he made no change, he would have to take the platform again for a consecutive third attempt.

“Add more?”

His coach looked at him. At this critical juncture, tactics boiled down to momentum and self-assessment of strength.

If he also added to 221, Meng Fan would lift first again, and he could still use his third attempt to counter.

But 221 kilograms was a weight Tarahadiz had never snatched in competition.

“Add!”

With 219 already secured, Tarahadiz chose to increase. Even if he failed, 219 would count toward his total. As long as he edged out Meng Fan in the snatch, it would be fine.

Moreover, in training, his results exceeded 220. This Olympic stage was precisely where he intended to challenge heavier weights on his third attempt.

Besides, by applying this pressure, Meng Fan might not be able to snatch 221!

“The situation on stage is getting tense! Tarahadiz has chosen to match Meng Fan’s weight, forcing him to lift first again.”

“Meng Fan has changed too! To 223!”

“A direct increase of two kilograms, not 222!”

“Meng Fan changed his weight—what about Tarahadiz?”

“Tarahadiz is on stage! He hasn’t increased further! His best before the weight class reform was 220; this time, he’s challenging himself. As for Meng Fan’s weight, it’s indeed high. If Tarahadiz were to add, he’d need to improve his personal best by 3 kilograms—that’s tough!”

“Success!”

"Talahadaz successfully lifted 221 kilograms, challenging himself, improving his personal best, and simultaneously breaking the world record he had just set!"

"Brilliant! This competition is absolutely brilliant! So far, the world record has been broken three times!"

"Now, Talahadaz has completed his three snatch attempts. Next up is Meng Fan's second attempt!"

".Three white lights! Meng Fan succeeded! He has lifted an incredible 223 kilograms! He has once again broken Talahadaz's world record! This is the fourth time the world record has been broken in this competition! This is a clash of titans!"

"Thus, Meng Fan will enter the clean and jerk competition in first place in the snatch!"

"Wait! Meng Fan still has a third attempt! The big screen shows the weight he will attempt for his third snatch—hmm—is it still 223? No, it's 233!"

"My god, he's going to increase it by 10 kilograms all at once!"

(End of chapter)