All-out effort: Thach Kim Tuan leads Viet Nam to win three tickets to compete at the Brazil Olympics next summer. — File Photo

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam's weightlifting team have made history by winning three tickets to compete at the next Olympic Games in Brazil.

The World Championships finished in the US yesterday morning, and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) announced the final rankings for all participants.

Thach Kim Tuan won a bronze medal in the men's 56kg category, helping the team to finish 20th overall.

Following IWF rules, teams ranked from 19th to 24th receive three berths to the Brazil Games.

It is the first time Viet Nam has qualified for three places in a single sport for the Olympics.

Female lifter Vuong Thi Huyen is also expected to earn a place in Rio, after winning a silver and two bronze medals in the 48kg category.

If she doesn't win a place, she still has a chance at the Asian Championships next year in Uzbekistan.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Tran Le Quoc Toan was the only weightlifter to represent Viet Nam. He finished fourth in the men's 56kg pool.

Tuan is the country's only lifter to win an Olympic medal, taking silver the men's 56kg class at the Beijing Games in 2008.

Viet Nam have six official berths for Rio de Janeiro. Swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, marksmen Hoang Xuan Vinh and Tran Quoc Cuong, along with the weightlifters.

World record

Russia's Alexsey Lovchev shattered his personal best to set a world record in the clean&jerk and win the 105kg world title in the last day of competition.

Lovchev, who also set a world record in the weight class with a 475kg total, had a 16kg improvement from his second clean&jerk lift to his last to finish at a record 264kg.

The 26-year-old Lovchev had never lifted more than 257kg in training.

"I was thinking, ‘This is impossible' as I had never tried that weight before," said Lovchev.

"I'm overwhelmed. This shows that Russia is the strongest nation. I could never have done it without the support of my parents. My father is my coach and he introduced me to weightlif-ting. My mother passed away in 2012 and I dedicate this victory and the records to her."

Both records he broke were held previously by Iran's Hossein Rezazadeh.

Rezazadeh's previous mark of 263kg in the clean&jerk was 11 years old and his total mark of 472kg was 15 years old.

"When I was little I used to watch Rezazadeh on television, lifting enormous weights. He was an example to me and I never imagined I would one day take his records," Lovchev said.

Georgia's Lasha Talakhadze finished second in overall with a 454kg total, while Estonia's Mart Seim took the bronze with a 438kg.

Lovchev also won the 105kg weight class snatch title with a score of 211kg. — VNS/AFP