Bulgaria weightlifter wins gold 15 months since a hotel sink fell and severed an Achilles tendon

PARIS (AP) — Karlos Nasar of Bulgaria won weightlifting gold at the Olympics and broke two world records Friday, just over a year after a hotel sink fell on him and severed his left Achilles tendon.

Nasar was showering the night before an awards ceremony in May 2023 when he reached for shampoo and pressed down, causing the sink to fall out of the wall and onto him. After undergoing emergency surgery and missing six months, he returned in December and set the clean and jerk world record that he surpassed in this event.

The 21-year-old Nasar, a Paris native, lifted 180 kilograms (397 pounds) in the snatch and a world record 224 in the clean and jerk to become champion in his Olympic debut with a score of 404 — also a world record. Yeison López of Colombia got silver and Antonino Pizzolato of Italy took home the bronze.

The event, merging the 81 and 96 kilograms as part of a reduction of weight classes from Tokyo in 2021, was not for the faint of heart, with multiple weightlifters going down in pain during the course of the competition. Karim Abokahla of Egypt grabbed at his right bicep on two consecutive lifts and received medical attention for several minutes with an injury that knocked him out midway through.

Boady Santavy of Canada also did not finish after he was unable to complete a lift in the clean and jerk. Host country fan favorite Romain Imadouchène did not medal but got through it while appearing to fight through a left leg ailment.

Later Friday, Olivia Reeves competes in the women’s 81-kilogram division, looking to join Hampton Morris as U.S. weightlifters to medal in Paris. The 21-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is making her Olympic debut as the top qualifier in her weight class.