Chen wins early gold

Weightlifter Chen Xiexia set an Olympic record to win China's first gold medal of the Olympics in the women's 48kg class, ensuring a sparkling start to the Games for the host.

Eurosport

Image credit: TNT Sports

Amid shouts of "Go China!" from the crowd, Chen snatched 95kg and lifted 117kg for the clean and jerk, clinching gold with a total of 212kg.

Chen was greeted by huge cheers from the crowd inside the weightlifting hall, marking her home advantage but also the enormous pressure she faced as one of the first medal contenders in this year's Games.

Turkey's Sibel Ozkan lifted a total of 199kg to win silver and Taiwanese lifter Chen Wei-Ling lifted 196kg to take bronze.

Beijing 2008

Quick Guide: Weightlifting

29/07/2008 at 17:50

Factbox on Chen Xiexia:

Age: 25 (date of birth: Jan 8, 1983)

Place of birth: Pangu City, Guangdong province, China

Career achievements:

Three gold medals (snatch, clean and jerk, and the total) in 2007 World Championships

Three gold medals in 2007 Asian Championships

Chen was a hot favorite to win gold after narrowly beating key rival and 2006 world championship gold medalist Yang Lian for a spot on China's team. She holds the world record of 120 kg for clean and jerk, set at the 2007 Asian championship.

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