The Batumi European Championship concluded with the heavyweight category and Bakar Turmanidze’s performance
26 April, 2026
The European Weightlifting Championships in Batumi came to an end with the men’s heavyweight competitions. Bakar Turmanidze, a bronze medalist in the clean and jerk at the European Championships, stepped onto the platform.
The Georgian heavyweight (+110 kg) successfully completed all three snatch attempts (175/181/187), finishing in fourth place. In the clean and jerk, his first two attempts (208/219) were successful, but he failed to lift 225 kg on his third attempt, dropping to fifth place in that discipline, while finishing fourth overall with a total of 406 kg.
It was a successful championship for Armenian weightlifter Varazdat Lalayan, an Olympic silver medalist, a two-time world champion, a two-time European champion, and a holder of numerous other medals.
The representative of Armenia was the best in the snatch (210 kg), the clean and jerk, and the total.
The individual neutral athlete Danil Vagaitsev finished with silver medals in the snatch (192 kg), the clean and jerk (233 kg), and the total (425 kg).
Third place in the total (418 kg) went to another individual neutral athlete, Timur Naniev, who had the third-best result in the snatch (191 kg) and placed fourth in the clean and jerk (227 kg).
Ukraine’s Vladyslav Prylipko earned a bronze medal in the clean and jerk with 231 kg.
At the Batumi European Championships, athletes from 18 countries won medals, along with competitors participating under neutral individual status.
In the unofficial team standings, Armenia finished first with 9 gold, 8 silver, and 7 bronze medals. Bulgaria placed second (6-5-3), while the team of neutral individual athletes ranked third (5-12-10).
The Georgian team concluded the Batumi European Championships with 2 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze medals, finishing eighth in the overall standings.
Among the Georgian medalists, Goderdzi Berdelidze (60 kg) won gold in the snatch. Ramin Shamilishvili (60 kg) and Archil Malakmadze (79 kg) claimed bronze medals in the clean and jerk. Manuchar Gogokhia (88 kg) won bronze in the snatch, while Zurab Mskhaladze (88 kg) took gold in the clean and jerk and silver in the total.
From the women’s team, Anastasia Gottfried (+86 kg) finished the European Championships with a silver medal in the snatch and a bronze medal in the total.
