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Briken Calja shocks Europe again with a gold medal, Enkileda Carja also shines!
2026-04-22 23:01:24 / SPORT
Briken Calja knows no age. The 36-year-old continues to amaze with his performance, while writing another glorious page in the history of Albanian weightlifting.
The Shtime weightlifter won two medals at the European Championships being held in Batumi, Georgia, a gold in the clean and jerk and a silver in the clean and jerk, thus raising the red and black flag to the podium of the most important continental weightlifting competition.
CATEGORY 79 KG – Calja had given the signals at the national championship held a few weeks ago, where he was declared the best athlete, with a performance that promised a lot for the European Championship, and that's what happened.
He competed in the 79 kg Battery A, and started well by successfully passing the first attempt in the clean and jerk with 153 kg. However, the red and black champion failed in the next two attempts with 157 kg, thus starting the European Championships with a fourth place in the clean and jerk.
But the best would come from the clean and jerk style, even though the first attempt was a failure with 185 kg. Calja achieved the same weight in the second attempt, while shocking Europe in the third attempt, successfully lifting 187 kg, to deserve the gold medal.
Meanwhile, with 340 kg in total, Briken also won the silver medal in the men's doubles, thus closing an extraordinary European Championship, a competition that has seen him regularly be the protagonist, even with a gold triple.
The gold medal in the total and in the clean and jerk in the 79 kg weight category went to the Russian Gevorg Serobian, who competed under a neutral flag. Another Albanian weightlifting icon, Erkand Qerimaj, also competed in the 79 kg category, but was unable to leave much of a mark.
Qerimaj was classified in eighth place in the snatch with 152 kg, while he did not pass any of the clean and jerk tests, so he was not classified in the doubles.
ENKILEDA CARJA – Enkileda Carja, who is considered the great future of the red and black weightlifter, also stepped onto the podium for Albania.
The 18-year-old from Librazhdi, who was awarded the title of "European Rising Star 2025" by the European Weightlifting Federation on Tuesday, is now competing with the adults, standing out with her performance. Carja competed in Battery B of the 69 kg weight class, giving very good results and age records.
She ranked fourth in Europe in the clean and jerk with 103 kg, while in the clean and jerk she ranked seventh with 123 kg, also closing the doubles seventh with 226 kg.
But, considering the young age of the Albanian weightlifter, Carja set two European records for young women, one in the snatch style and one in the total of the two-event. /Panorama Sport/
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