Varazdat Lalayan reflects on 2026 World Weightlifting Championships

Two-time world champion, three-time European champion and Olympic silver medalist Varazdat Lalayan has reflected on the 2026 World Weightlifting Championships.

“The World Championships did not get off to a good start for our team. I did not have enough time because I had not been training fully for two months. I did not manage to get into competition shape. But the competition showed that even in this condition, I could have beaten my opponents. However, something was missing,” Lalayan said in a video released by the press service of the Weightlifting Federation of Armenia.

Lalayan said that the weights lifted by his opponents came as no surprise to him, as he knows them well.

Armenia’s Varazdat Lalayan won the bronze medal with a total of 457 kg (210+247 kg) at the 2026 World Weightlifting Championships in China. He competed in the men’s +110 kg weight category.