Daisuke Midote hoisted a total of 1,027.5 kg in three lifts Tuesday to win the men's heavyweight title at the World Games in Akita Prefecture.
Midote's victory at Akita Culture Hall gave Japan a total of seven gold medals in the multi-sport event for non-Olympic sports and along with bronze medals in ultimate frisbee and men's synchronized trampoline brought the host country's medal total to 19. Midote lifted 415 kg in the squat, a national record 302.5 kg in the benchpress and 310 kg in the deadlift for 579.716 points to edge American Brad Gillingham (571.085) and European champion Jorgen Ljungberg of Sweden (571.029). In the lightweight (under 67.5 kg) division, Alexey Sivokon of Kazakstan won the gold medal with a total of 812.5 kg for 626.438 points, followed by Konstantin Pavlov and Mikhail Andryukhin of Russia.
Japan's Hideaki Inaba, a 17-time powerlifting world champion, placed eighth with a total of 535 kg for a total of 529.276 points, while Shin Watanabe was fifth for the host country.
"Before I head to the old folks' home, I think it's great that I could compete in such a big meet at home," said the 57-year-old Inaba, who started powerlifting in 1968 and won his first world title in 1974.
In the middleweight division (under 90 kg), Victor Furazhkin of Russia won with 598.252 points after lifting 822.5 kg. Andrey Taransenko was second and Serguey Mor completed the Russian sweep of the medals podium.
Meanwhile at Akita City Gymnasium, Japan's Takayuki Kawanishi and Olympic team member Daisuke Nakata took a bronze medal in the men's synchronized trampoline competition.
Olympic gold medalist Alexander Moskalenko, meanwhile, teamed with world champion Guerman Khnytchev to give Russia the gold with a score of 51.90 points.
Also, world champion Levon Petrosian of Russia won the men's tumbling event.