Davit Hovhannisyan wins bronze at the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships

Armenian weightlifter Davit Hovhannisyan claimed the bronze medal at the 2025 European Championships in Chișinău, competing in the men’s 96 kg category. He lifted a total of 376 kg (173 kg snatch, 203 kg clean and jerk), finishing behind athletes from Bulgaria and Georgia. In addition to the "big" bronze medal, Hovhannisyan also earned two "small" bronzes in each lift.

The European champion was Bulgaria’s Karlos Nasar, who set two world records — in the snatch (188 kg) and in the total (417 kg). The silver medal went to Georgia’s Revaz Davitadze with 379 kg (174+205).

This was the third European title for the 20-year-old Nasar. His debut in the new weight category was sensational: within six minutes, he broke Lesman Paredes’ world record in the snatch, and by the end of the session, he surpassed Sohrab Moradi’s long-standing total record from 2018. Olympic champion Lasha Talakhadze presented him the clean and jerk gold medal.

On the same day, Moldova's Elena Erighina won the women’s 81 kg competition, becoming her country’s first-ever female continental champion. She lifted 242 kg (106+136), finishing ahead of Belgium’s Ilke Lagrou (238 kg), who competed despite serious injuries and has surgery scheduled next week.

So far, Armenia has won six "big" medals at the 2025 European Championships — four silvers and two bronzes.