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Solfrid Koanda

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Solfrid Koanda
Personal information
Born (1998-11-13) 13 November 1998 (age 26)
Oulu, Finland
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
CountryNorway
SportWeightlifting
Weight class87 kg
ClubLarvik Atletklubb
Coached byStian Grimseth
Sindre Madsgaard
Thomas Eide
Medal record
Women's weightlifting
Representing  Norway
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris 81 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Bogotá 87 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Tashkent 87 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Tirana 87 kg
Gold medal – first place 2023 Yerevan 87 kg
Gold medal – first place 2024 Sofia 87 kg

Solfrid Eila Amena Koanda (born 13 November 1998) is a Norwegian weightlifter. She is an Olympic champion and won the gold medal in the women's 81 kg weightlifting event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where she also set Olympic records in clean & jerk and total.

Koanda is a world champion and a three-time European champion. She won the gold medal in the women's 87 kg event at the 2022 World Championships, the bronze medal in the women's 87 kg event at the 2021 World Championships and consecutive gold medals at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 European Championships.[1][2][3][4]

Career

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Koanda began weightlifting in 2020 and made her Norwegian Championships debut that same year in the women's 87 kg, where she placed second and set a new national record in clean & jerk.[5] In February 2021, she set new Norwegian records in the 87 kg division with 96 kg in snatch, 125 kg in clean & jerk and a total of 221 kg at a competition in Lillesand.[6] Koanda made her international championship debut at the 2021 European Weightlifting Championships, where she won the bronze medal in clean and jerk in the women's 87 kg event, setting a new Nordic record of 135 kg, and placed fifth in total.[7][8] At the 2021 European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships in Rovaniemi, she won the gold medal in the 87 kg event.[9] She won the gold medal in clean & jerk and the bronze medal in total in the 87 kg event at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships.[10]

In 2022, Koanda won the gold medals in snatch, clean & jerk and total in the 87 kg events at the European Championships in Tirana and the World Championships in Bogotá, becoming the first female Norwegian weightlifting world champion in history.[11][7][12] She retained her title in the 87 kg event at the 2023 European Championships held in Yerevan and won the gold medal in clean & jerk at the 2023 World Championships in Riyadh.[13][14] Koanda won the European gold medals in snatch, clean & jerk and total for a third consecutive time at the 2024 European Championships in Sofia.[15]

Koanda won the gold medal in the women's 81 kg weightlifting event at the 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris, where she also set new Olympic records in clean & jerk with 154 kg and total with 275 kg, in addition to becoming the first Norwegian Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting since 1972 and the first female Norwegian to win an individual Olympic gold medal at the Summer Games since 2004.[16][15] She was the Norwegian flag bearer at the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[17]

Personal life

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Koanda was born in Finland to a Finnish mother from Oulu and an Ivorian father.[18] When she was nine years old, the family moved to Grimstad, Norway.[18] She lived in foster care from age 15 to 18.[18] During this time she started CrossFit.[19] She also has Finnish citizenship.[20]

Koanda worked as an electrician before becoming a full-time athlete towards the end of 2022.[10][7] She currently lives in Grimstad and represents Larvik Atletklubb.[15]

Achievements

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Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
Olympic Games
2024 Paris, France 81 kg 117 121 124 — 148 154 OR 162 — 275 OR 1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships
2021 Tashkent, Uzbekistan 87 kg 98 103 107 7 135 141 142 1st place, gold medalist(s) 244 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2022 Bogotá, Colombia 87 kg 108 110 113 1st place, gold medalist(s) 143 143 147 1st place, gold medalist(s) 260 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2023 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 87 kg 115 115 115 — 140 150 156 1st place, gold medalist(s) — —
IWF World Cup
2024 Phuket, Thailand 87 kg 116 121 123 1st place, gold medalist(s) 152 158 158 1st place, gold medalist(s) 275 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships
2021 Moscow, Russia 87 kg 95 100 104 8 125 130 135 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 235 5
2022 Tirana, Albania 87 kg 103 107 109 1st place, gold medalist(s) 133 138 143 1st place, gold medalist(s) 252 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2023 Yerevan, Armenia 87 kg 110 110 117 1st place, gold medalist(s) 145 153 155 1st place, gold medalist(s) 272 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2024 Sofia, Bulgaria 87 kg 114 118 120 1st place, gold medalist(s) 148 155 160 1st place, gold medalist(s) 280 1st place, gold medalist(s)

References

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  1. ^ Oliver, Brian (14 December 2022). "Electrician Koanda lights up Norway's weightlifting history with world title". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  2. ^ "2022 World Weightlifting Championships Results Book" (PDF). IWF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  3. ^ Oliver, Brian (16 December 2021). "Home fans celebrate as Djuraev adds weightlifting world title to Olympic gold". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. ^ "2021 World Weightlifting Championships Results Book" (PDF). International Weightlifting Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Løfter 40 tonn i uka for å vinne OL-gull". www.aftenposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 22 July 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Solfrid (22) er historisk sørlending". Aftenposten. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Dickson, Jake (10 August 2024). "Solfrid Koanda Was an Electrician: 3 Years Later, She Won First Olympic Gold for Norway in 52 Years". BarBend. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Overrasket med EM-bronse i vektløfting". Fædrelandsvennen. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. ^ "2021 European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships Results Book" (PDF). European Weightlifting Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b Gill, Henrik (29 December 2022). "Slutter i jobben:– Skummelt". fvn.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  11. ^ Oliver, Brian (5 June 2022). "Landmark golds for Britain's Campbell and Norway's Koanda at European Weightlifting Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  12. ^ Strøm, Ole Kristian; Tetlie, Lisa Amdam (10 August 2024). "Solfrid Koanda med tårefylt jubel etter OL-gull: – Trengte en liten gudinne". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  13. ^ "2023 European Weightlifting Championships Results Book" (PDF). EWF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  14. ^ NRK (15 September 2023). "Koanda med suverent VM-gull". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  15. ^ a b c "Solfrid Koanda med tårefylt jubel etter OL-gull: – Trengte en liten gudinne". www.aftenposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 10 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Koanda wins Norway's first weightlifting medal since 1972". BBC Sport. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Every Olympic flagbearer for Paris 2024 closing ceremony including Alex Yee and Katie Ledecky". The Independent. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  18. ^ a b c Langeveld, Espen (17 December 2021). "Forlot foreldrene som 15-åring – Nå er hun verdensmester". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  19. ^ "OL-helten har et ark på nattbordet. Det som står der, kan ha vært avgjørende". www.aftenposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 10 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  20. ^ Korkki, Riku (10 August 2024). "Suomen kansalainen voitti olympiakultaa!". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 August 2024.
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