Paris: The two Georgian athletes have created history for the country’s sports. The wresterler Geno Petriashvili and weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze have won the Gold medals in their final match at the Paris Olympics, 2024.
The wrestler Geno Petriashvili, 30 is the first gold on his name at this Paris Olyamic. He fought in the 125kg Freestyle category against the Iranian opponent, Hossein Zare in the final. The match was won by the Georgian wrestler with the slightest margin of 10 agianst 9.
Geno Petriashvili has a great past history at the Olympic games. He won bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Later at the next Olympics which were held in 2021 one year after the schedule due to the COVID-19 Pandemic he won silver at Tokyo.
Notably Geno Petriashvili has faced many hurdles in his personal life as well. He belongs to the conflict areas which are in the occupied Tskhinvali region. Moreover he was kidnapped by unknown men at the age of just 11. The kidnapper kept him in custody for 98 days.
However he has survived all the suffering and made the country proud. The president has extended her best wishes to him. The President Salome Zurabishvili stated on her social media handles that “His victory is a testimony to Georgian resilience against all the suffering. The victory is also a symbol of Georgia’s fierce independence in spite of all the difficulties.”
On the other hand weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze also won his third Olympic gold medal. He competed in the +102 category. Lasha Talakhadze recorded 215kg in the snatch and 255kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 470kg.
The first runner-up was the Vaazdat Malayan from Armenia who won silver with a lift of 467 kg. In the previous Olympic Games held respectively in 2016 and 2020 in Brazil and Japan won Gold.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and many other government officials have congratulated both athletes. Social media users across the country have also wished both of them well and thanked them for making the country proud at the international level.
