Medal Picks

77 kg (169.5 lbs.)
• Li Hongli, China
• Gevorg Davtyan, Armenia
• Oleg Perepechenov, Russia
Bulgaria's Ivan Stoitsov (box) is world champ.

85 kg (187 lbs.)
• Andrei Rybakou, Belarus
• Izzet Ince, Turkey
• Valeriu Calancea, Romania
Rybakou won '07 worlds by an astounding 46 pounds.

94 kg (207 lbs.)
• Roman Konstantinov, Russia
• Szymon Kolecki, Poland
• Yoandris Hernández, Cuba
Konstantinov beat these two rivals on final lift at '07 worlds.

105 kg (231 lbs.)
• Andrei Aramnau, Belarus
• Dimitry Klokov, Russia
• Dmitry Lapikov, Russia
Allowed a total of six lifters, Russians are doubling up here.

105+ kg (231+ lbs.)
• Hossein Rezazadeh, Iran
• Viktors Scerbatihs, Latvia
• Matthias Steiner, Germany
Iranian TV carried Rezazadeh's wedding live in 2003.

Women

48 kg (105.5 lbs.)
• Chen Xiexia, China
• Pramsiri Bunphithak, Thailand
• Estefania Juan, Spain
Deep China could replace Chen with Yang Lian—and still win.

53 kg (116.5 lbs.)
• Nastassia Novikava, Belarus
• Yu Wei Li, Hong Kong
• Wandee Kameaim, Thailand
Limited to four women's entries, China skips this class despite having world's two best.

58 kg (127.5 lbs.)
• Qiu Hongmei, China
• Marina Shainova, Russia
• O Jong Ae, North Korea
China might replace Qiu with '04 champ Chen Yanqing.

63 kg (138.5 lbs.)
• Liu Haixia, China
• Svetlana Tsarukaeva, Russia
• Meline Daluzyan, Armenia
Liu is reigning world champion.