Lydia Valentín facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lydia Valentín

Valentín in 2008
Personal information
Nationality	Spanish
Born	(1985-02-10) 10 February 1985 (age 40) Ponferrada, Spain
Years active	2002–2023
Height	1.69 m
Weight	78.80 kg
Sport
Country	Spain
Sport	Weightlifting
Event(s)	–81 kg
Club	Cas-Leonesa, CLE
Coached by	Matías Fernández
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Snatch: 124 kg (2014, Almaty) Clean & Jerk: 147 kg (2014, Tel Aviv) Total: 268 kg (2014, Tel Aviv)
Medal record Women's weightlifting Representing  Spain Olympic Games Gold 2012 London –75 kg Silver 2008 Beijing –75 kg Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro –75 kg World Championships Gold 2017 Anaheim –75 kg Gold 2018 Ashgabat –81 kg Silver 2019 Pattaya –81 kg Bronze 2013 Wrocław –75 kg European Championships Gold 2014 Tel Aviv –75 kg Gold 2015 Tbilisi –75 kg Gold 2017 Split –75 kg Gold 2018 Bucharest –75 kg Silver 2008 Lignano –75 kg Silver 2009 Bucharest –75 kg Silver 2012 Antalya –75 kg Silver 2013 Tirana –75 kg Silver 2019 Batumi –76 kg Bronze 2007 Strasbourg –75 kg Bronze 2010 Minsk –75 kg Bronze 2011 Kazan –75 kg Mediterranean Games Gold 2013 Mersin -75kg Gold 2018 Tarragona -75 kg

Lydia Valentín Pérez (born February 10, 1985) is a famous Spanish weightlifter. She is an Olympic Champion, a two-time World Champion, and a four-time European Champion. Lydia competed in the 75 kg category for many years. After 2018, the weightlifting categories changed, and she started competing in the 81 kg category.

Lydia has won three Olympic medals. She earned a Silver medal in 2008, a Gold medal in 2012, and a Bronze medal in 2016. She also has two World Weightlifting Championship titles from 2017 and 2018. On top of that, she has won four European Weightlifting Championships.

Lydia's Amazing Career in Weightlifting

Lydia Valentín has had a long and successful career in weightlifting. She started competing in major events in the early 2000s. Her hard work and dedication helped her become one of the best weightlifters in the world.

World Championships Success

At the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships, Lydia finished sixth in her category. She lifted a total of 240 kg. In 2013, at the 2013 World Weightlifting Championships, she first won a bronze medal in the snatch lift. Later, she was awarded a silver medal in snatch and a bronze medal overall. This happened because another athlete was disqualified.

In 2017, Lydia achieved a huge victory. She won the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, United States. She continued her winning streak in 2018, becoming a World Champion again at the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships.

European Championships Victories

Lydia has also been very successful at the European Weightlifting Championships. She won four gold medals for her total lifts in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018. She also earned three silver medals in 2008, 2012, and 2013. Additionally, she won three bronze medals in 2007, 2009, and 2011.

She also won many medals in the individual lifts. These include three gold and four silver medals in the snatch lift. In the clean and jerk lift, she won two gold, one silver, and five bronze medals.

Olympic Journey and Medals

Lydia Valentín's Olympic journey is quite remarkable. She competed in the 75 kg category at the Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She initially finished in fifth place. However, years later, retests showed that the original gold and bronze medalists had used banned substances. Because of this, Lydia was awarded the silver medal for the 2008 Olympics.

At the Weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Lydia finished fourth. Again, the three athletes who won medals were later disqualified due to doping. This meant that Lydia Valentín was declared the Olympic Champion! She received her gold medal in March 2019.

While waiting for these medals to be confirmed, Lydia competed in the Weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. There, she lifted a total of 257 kg and won the bronze medal. This was a very special moment. At that time, it was Spain's first weightlifting medal ever at the Olympics. With her other medals awarded later, it became her third Olympic medal.

Lydia also competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, which took place in 2021. She participated in the women's 87 kg event.

Major Competition Results

Lydia Valentín has competed in many important weightlifting events. Here are some of her top results from the Olympic Games, World Championships, and European Championships.

Year	Venue	Weight	Snatch (kg)				Clean & Jerk (kg)				Total	Rank
			1	2	3	Rank	1	2	3	Rank
Olympic Games
2008	Beijing, China	75 kg	110	110	115	2	130	135	138	3	250
2012	London, United Kingdom	75 kg	115	115	120	1	140	145	148	1	265
2016	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	75 kg	112	116	116	2	135	138	141	3	257
2020	Tokyo, Japan	87 kg	100	103	106	10	122	–	–	11	225	10
World Championships
2013	Wrocław, Poland	75 kg	117	122	122		138	146	146		260
2014	Almaty, Kazakhstan	75 kg	120	120	124		140	147	148	4	264	4
2017	Anaheim, United States	75 kg	110	115	118		130	135	140		258
2018	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan	81 kg	108	110	113		130	136	136		249
2019	Pattaya, Thailand	81 kg	105	108	112	5	130	134	138		246
European Championships
2014	Tel Aviv, Israel	75 kg	115	120	121		137	144	147		268
2015	Tbilisi, Georgia	75 kg	112	116	118		135	141	145		263
2017	Split, Croatia	75 kg	112	115	118		132	137	–		252
2018	Bucharest, Romania	75 kg	107	112	115		130	135	140		250
2019	Batumi, Georgia	76 kg	105	108	110		130	133	136		241

See also

In Spanish: Lydia Valentín para niños

• List of Olympic medalists in weightlifting
• List of World Championships medalists in weightlifting
• List of European Championships medalists in weightlifting