Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon, pride of Thailand

Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand became the new Olympic champion in the 53kg category of Women's Weightlifting on Sunday, thanks to her total lift of 221kg.

Yoon Jin-hee of the Republic of Korea had the best start of the day, lifting 94kg with her first Snatch attempt. However, she failed at 97kg with her last two attempts. Nastassia Novikava of Belarus and Jaroenrattanatarakoon followed the same route as they both succeeded at lifting 92kg and 95kg, but stopped short of lifting 97kg. With no lifters passing the 100kg mark, the possibility of a new Olympic record for total weight was small.

In the Clean and Jerk round, all eyes were on 24-year-old Jaroenrattanatarakoon, who lifted 120kg with her first attempt. She then went on with a stunning attempt of 126kg, which was easily completed and made her an Olympic record holder in the Clean and Jerk. Although she failed to raise her record with her third attempt, her stellar performance won a standing ovation from all spectators in the stadium.

Thailand's Udomporn Polsak was the champion of this weight class four years ago. Jaroenrattanatarakoon not only retained this title, but also claimed the first gold medal for her country in this year's Olympics.