Japanese weightlifter Hisaya Yoshimoto made an early exit from the men's super-heavyweight division final Tuesday after he injured his knee in the middle of the Group B competition.
Yoshimoto, Japan's first weightlifter to hoist 400 kg at the national championships in June, injured his knee trying to lift 182.5 on his third snatch attempt for a new national record.
"Although I heard a cracking sound, I was too excited to notice it," he said after he fell to his back and twisted his knee in the attempt. The Okinawa native was forced to withdraw from the clean-and-jerk competition.
Yoshimoto, Japan's first competitor in the sport's heaviest division for lifters weighing over 105 kg in the Olympics, was unfazed by his accident and withdrawal.
"I still plan to compete in the super-heavyweight division in the future," he said, adding that he hopes to win a place among the top eight at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.