Albanian Calja Briken Clinches Bronze in Snatch at 2023 Grand Prix II

On the sixth day of the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II in Qatar, Albanian Calja Briken clinched bronze in Snatch with 155 kg in the 81 kg men’s category. So far, on the all-time medal table of the competition, he is the only one to clinch a medal for his country.

Having previously clinched bronze and gold, respectively, in his two previous outings in the Snatch of the World Weightlifting competition, he maintained his fine form.

Calja made only two attempts. In his first attempt, he lifted 152 kg. In his second attempt, he lifted 155 kg, perhaps earning him the bronze. He gave up on his third attempt.

However, Calja’s remarkable form did not help him in Clean and Jerk, where he bombed out. He began the competition with 186 kg and failed to lift the barbell. In his second and third attempts, he could not lift the barbell with 187 kg.

In the process, he fell short of his previous performance in the 2021 World Weightlifting competition, where he clinched a silver medal in clean and jerk.

Calja Briken’s general performance gave fans mixed feelings. After clinching silver in the last competition, many hoped he would do better this time.

His inability to lift the barbell in Clean and Jerk means he failed to register an overall result for the first time in his career.

More About Calja Briken

Born in 1990, Caija Briken is an Albanian weightlifter with a remarkable career. He clinched the silver medal in the men’s 73 kg category at the 2021 Tashkent World Weightlifting Championships. He won the 2018 European Championship in the men’s 69 kg category and has since won silver medals in 2019 and 2021 in the 73 kg category in competition.

Since the beginning of his career, Caija competed in the 69 kg men’s category until 2018. Since 2018, he has competed in the 73 kg category after the International Weightlifting Federation revised the categories.

The 2023 IWF Grand Prix II competition is the first time Calja has participated in the 81 kg men’s category in his illustrious career.

After this competition, Calja will hope to rekindle his dreams of participating in the Paris Olympics next year, which is not far-fetched. With four more qualifying competitions coming up, including next year’s European Championship, Calja can redeem himself and salvage the points needed to represent his country in the Olympics.