Prapawadee wins women's 53kg gold

Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand waves to spectators after winning the women's 53kg final of weightlifting at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 10, 2008. Prapawadee claimed title in this event and set a new Olympic record with 126 kilos in clean and jerk lift.

The 24-year-old set a new clean and jerk Olympic record of 126kg on the way to a gold medal winning total lift of 221kg.

The Thai pumped her fists in delight and, as the crowd roared its encouragement, got ready to break the clean and jerk world record of 129kg held by China's world champion Li Ping with an audacious attempt to heave 130kg.

However, the effort failed and she had to console herself with the gold medal and an Olympic record.

Yoon Jinhe of North Korea won the silver with 213kg on countback while Nastassia Novikava of Belarus who also lifted a 213kg total settled for the bronze.

Jaroenrattanatarakon effectively won the gold medal with an initial clean and jerk attempt of 120kg, raising the bar to a level none of her eight rivals could match.

With the gold locked up, she turned her sights on the record books, breaking the eight year-old Olympic clean and jerk record, held by China's Yang Xia, with her second attempt.