Bakhyt Beshimbekovich Akhmetov ( kk, Бахыт Бешимбекович Ахметов, ''Bahyt Beşimbekovich Ahmetov''; born March 27, 1979, in

Shymkent Shymkent (; Шымкент, Şymkent), known until 1993 as Chimkent ( uz, Çımkent, چىمكېنت; Yañalif: Çimkent ()); russian: Чимкент, translit=Chimkent (), is a city in Kazakhstan. It is near the border with Uzbekistan. It is one ...

) is a

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

. He is a three-time Olympian and a two-time medalist for the 94 and 105 kg classes at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

. Formerly a member of the Kyrgyzstan team, Akhmetov made his official debut for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where he hauled 367.5 kilograms in total for a fifteenth-place finish in the men's middle heavyweight class (94 kg). In 2002, Akhmetov achieved his early success by capturing the gold medal in the same category at the

Busan, South Korea Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

. Akhmetov was also considered a top medal contender, when he competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, representing his birth nation. He lifted a total of 390 kg in the men's 94 kg class, finishing only in seventh place by five kilograms short of the clean and jerk record from Turkey's Hakan Yılmaz. At the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

Doha, Qatar Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

, Akhmetov switched to a heavier class by competing in the men's 105 kg class, where he claimed the bronze medal, with a total of 388 kg. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Bakhmetov competed this time for the men's heavyweight class (105 kg), against several top-class weightlifters, including world record holders

Marcin Dołęga Marcin Dołęga (Polish pronunciation: ; born 18 July 1982) is a Polish weightlifter. He is a three-time World champion in the 105 kg weight division. Personal life Dołęga was born on 18 July 1982 in Łuków, Poland. His brothers Robert ...

of Poland

Andrei Aramnau Andrei Mikalajevič Aramnaǔ ( be, Андрэй Мікалаевіч Арамнаў, born 17 April 1988) is a Belarusian weightlifter, Olympic and World Champion. Career Andrei was born with six fingers on one hand, but had one removed in 2002 ...

of Belarus. During the competition, he successfully lifted 190 kg in the single-motion snatch, and hoisted 225 kg in the two-part, shoulder-to-overhead

clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...

, for a total of 415 kg. Bakhmetov finished the event in fifth place by five kilograms short of Dołęga's overall record (420 kg). For being the most experienced member, Bakhmetov also became Kazakhstan's flag bearer in the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

References

External links

*
NBC 2008 Olympics profile
Kazakhstani male weightlifters Kyrgyzstani male weightlifters 1979 births Living people Olympic weightlifters for Kazakhstan Olympic weightlifters for Kyrgyzstan Weightlifters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Shymkent Asian Games medalists in weightlifting Weightlifters at the 2002 Asian Games Weightlifters at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Kazakhstan Asian Games bronze medalists for Kazakhstan Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games {{Kazakhstan-weightlifting-bio-stub