Zacarias Bonnat Michel Wins the Dominican Republic’s First Olympic Medal of the Tokyo Games

2020 Tokyo Games

Zacarias Bonnat Michel has earned a special place in Dominican sports history…

Not only has the 23-year-old Dominican weightlifter earned the first Olympic medal for his country at the 2020 Tokyo Games, he’s also won the Dominican’s first-ever weightlifting Olympic medal

Zacarias Bonnat Michel

Bonnat claimed a silver in the Men’s 81kg category, losing to China’s Lü Xiaojun.

Bonnat tied the Olympic record in the clean and jerk mode by lifting 204 kilograms. In total he lifted 367 kilos, 7 kilograms less than Xiaojun.

The bronze went to the Italy’s Antonino Pizzolato who loaded 365 kg

In addition to earning his place in the history books of the Dominican Republic, the native of Bayaguana will receive a bonus of RD $8 million pesos. Bonnat was the 19th Dominican athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics last April, in the qualifying held in Parque del Este.

Zacarias Bonnat Michel

Bonnat started weightlifting 8 years ago, in 2012, when he was participating in the 69 kilogram category. In 2017 he had health complications in a Pan American tournament in Miami where he suffered an intestinal perforation. He needed 10 months to fully recover.

Bonnat has broken three Pan-American Games records and has achieved different medals throughout his career, in which he has received support from the Creating Olympic

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