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Karlos Nasar is going to win the World Weightlifting Championships this year. So confident is Nasar’s camp that, once the entry list for Forde came out—find that right here—they rang us to ask what total they needed to win.
Not whether Karlos could win; by how much.
It made us think: If the gold medal is already spoken for, does that mean the M94 event isn’t worth watching on WLHOUSE TV?
No way. There are plenty of spectacular athletes who will battle for podium positions in Norway. If Karlos has a bad day, one of them might even win.
- Remind Me: Karlos hasn’t had a bad day on an international stage since Worlds in Colombia in 2022. He bombed out in the snatches but set a world record clean & jerk. He hasn’t lost since.
We looked at the entries. It’s neck-and-neck, even for Karlos.
2025 World Weightlifting Championships | Men's 94KG
Here are the ten highest entry totals, minus Karlos' own 390, in the 94KG event at the 2025 World Weightlifting Championships. Remember entry totals aren't set in stone—they're a ballpark representation of the athlete's fitness:
- Ara Aghanyan (ARM): 390KG
- Kianoush Rostami (KOS): 390KG
- Davit Hovhannisyan (ARM): 390KG
- Won Jeongbom (KOR): 385KG
- Masashi Nishikawa (JPN): 381KG
- Karim Abokahla (EGY): 380KG
- Revaz Davitadze (GEO): 380KG
- Fares "Meso Hassona" El-Bakh (QAT): 380KG
- Raphael Friedrich (GER): 380KG
- Marcos Bonilla Casierra (COL): 380KG
Weightlifting House founder Seb Ostrowicz also highlighted one Juan David Guadamud Pico, from Ecuador, whom he mentioned on the podcast recently. Pico is a bit further down in the rankings with a 370 entry total, but Seb is bullish on his potential.
94s at the World Weightlifting Championships: What We Know
Six months ago, there was no 94KG category slotted for the World Weightlifting Championships. The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) had planned for a 98KG weight class, but was forced to refurbish after the sport was not granted an expanded presence at the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Pre-emptive planning: While the official LA categories are not confirmed as of this article's publication, athletes like Friedrich (formerly 89) and Hassona (formerly 102) seem to be betting on the inclusion of the 94s. If they're correct, the Men's divisions could be:
- 65, 79, 94, 110, +110
Remember this: Athletes may change their entry totals prior to the World Weightlifting Championships. However, they also must select openers that put them within 20KG of their final entry total on the day.
We can compare the top entry totals against some of their recent competition performances to get a general sense of the athletes' preparedness:
- Aghanyan entered big at 390, but his best international total is 380 at 102. At 96, he's done 375.
- Rostami's last total at 96 was a monstrous 406—six years ago at the Qatar cup. He most recently made 351@89 in 2023.
- Hovhannisyan totaled right around his all-time best, 376@96, at this year's European Champs.
- Hassona isn't making any big statement with his 380 entry, but Meso had many of his career best performances at 96, where he circled the 400 mark.
As for Nasar, Seb and Nick estimated on a recent episode of the Weightlifting House podcast that he'd need between 405 and 410 to guarantee the gold.
The 2025 World Weightlifting Championships run from Oct. 2 to 11. WLHOUSE will be streaming the event in addition to on-site coverage and immediate results reporting online.
Stay tuned.
