Eko Yuli Irawan Still "Fire" After Winning Bronze at the World Championships

FORDE, SATURDAY — Although the main focus is the SEA Games in Thailand 2025, Eko Yuli Irawan continues to deliver performances that garner praise and applause from the audience at the 2025 World Weightlifting Championship. This veteran lifter from Indonesia has even proven that he is not "finished" by winning a bronze medal.

Eko Yuli won bronze in the snatch (lifting a weight from the floor to above the head without pausing) in the 65-kilogram class at the 2025 World Weightlifting Championships in Forde, Norway, on Saturday (October 4, 2025) just before midnight WIB. The 36-year-old lifter successfully recorded a best lift of 137 kilograms.

His chances of winning a medal were slim when Eko Yuli failed in two snatch attempts. The four-time Olympic medalist failed on his first attempt at the 135 kg snatch and again on his second attempt at the 136 kg snatch.

Eko was actually able to lift 135 kg in the first attempt. However, the judges declared that lift invalid. The reason the lift was deemed invalid was due to a movement that was considered imperfect.

In the final attempt with a heavier load, Eko successfully completed his lift. In fact, Eko's performance elicited cheers from the audience who applauded his achievement.

After sprinkling magnesium powder on his hands, Eko closed his eyes and controlled his breathing. He then confidently lifted the barbell.

His movement was perfect and deemed valid. Eko successfully lifted a weight of 137 kg, reigniting his chances for a podium finish. The lifter from Lampung then smiled while saluting.

“This is why he is a true legend!” the commentator said, followed by other praise that Eko showed mental toughness and was a masterclass.

Eko's best lift was actually the same as that of the silver medalist, Ivan Petkov Dimov (Bulgaria). However, Dimov successfully lifted 137 kg first on his second attempt.

After Eko successfully lifted 137 kg, several other lifters actually attempted heavier weights in an effort to displace him from the podium. This included the bronze medalist in the 61 kg category at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Hampton Miller Morris (United States).

Morris "set" a lift of 139 kg on his final attempt. If successful, Morris would have won silver after becoming the second-best lifter in the snatch after Muhammed Furkan (Turkey) with 145 kg, and would have automatically knocked Eko off the podium. However, Morris failed to complete the lift.

Before departing, the coach of the Indonesian weightlifting team who handles Eko, Erwin Abdullah, stated that the main focus of the lifter is actually the SEA Games in Thailand in 2025. Eko was the best lifter during the national selection in August, thus earning the right to represent Indonesia in the biennial event.

The World Championship is only two months apart from the SEA Games, which will be held starting December 9. With such a close timeline, there needs to be one event that takes priority.

"It's difficult to maximize everything because athletes need recovery too," said Erwin.

On the other hand, Erwin stated that Indonesia is also sending another lifter in the 65 kg category, namely Leonardo Geovani Adventino. This junior, Eko Yuli, will not compete in the SEA Games, allowing him to focus on maximizing his performance at the World Championship with the aim of reaching the podium.

However, Leonardo failed to bring home a medal, finishing eighth in the snatch with a best lift of 133 kg. The 2004-born lifter finished 10th in the clean and jerk (162 kg) and total lift (295 kg).

In fact, during the national selection against Eko, Leonardo was able to lift a snatch weight of 137 kg. However, Leonardo's lift was invalidated because the time ran out.

Eko finished ninth in the clean and jerk (lifting a weight in two stages). His best lift was 163 kg. He placed seventh in the total lift with a lift of 300 kg.

The results at the World Championship indicate that Eko remains the best lifter in Indonesia in his category. His age may no longer be young, but his abilities are still unmatched by his juniors.

Nevertheless, the World Championship has become a valuable experience for Leonardo, who has just made his international debut. The Secretary General of the Indonesian Weightlifting Association, Djoko Pramono, during the farewell ceremony for the athletes last week, expressed his hope that Eko could "elevate" the abilities of his junior, such as Leonardo.

Previously, Indonesia's representatives in the women's sector had already competed in the 53-kilogram class on Friday (3/10/2025) evening. Indonesia sent two lifters who competed in Group B, namely Juliana Klarisa and Basilia Ninggan.

However, neither Klarisa nor Basilia won a medal. Klarisa finished 10th in the snatch with a best lift of 80 kg, 8th in the clean and jerk (103 kg), and 9th in the total lift of 183 kg.

Meanwhile, Basilia ranked 11th in the snatch, also lifting 80 kg. In the clean and jerk, Basilia ranked 16th with a best lift of 101 kg, and in the total lift, she ranked 11th with 181 kg.

The 2025 World Weightlifting Championships will be the first global event to feature new weight categories. As of June, the IWF (International Weightlifting Federation) has implemented new classes consisting of 60 kg, 65 kg, 71 kg, 79 kg, 88 kg, 98 kg, 110 kg, and +110 kg for the men's sector, and 48 kg, 53 kg, 58 kg, 63 kg, 69 kg, 77 kg, 86 kg, and +86 kg for the women's sector.

Indonesia is sending five male and five female weightlifters to the 2025 World Weightlifting Championship, which will be held from October 2 to 10. They will compete in seven weight categories.

On Sunday (5/10/2025) starting at 00:30 WIB, female lifter Natasya Beteyob competed in the 58 kg Group A category. Subsequently, starting at 17:00, Ardaraya competed in the 71 kg Group B men's category. After that, Nadita Aprilia showcased her strength in the 63 kg Group B women's category starting at 19:30 WIB.