Meso Hassona blew it in 2024. Three injuries — a hip strain at the last-chance qualifier for the 2024 Olympics, and then a two-pronged elbow and shoulder mishap on stage in Paris — derailed his hopes of bagging a second gold medal.
- Remind Me: In Tokyo, Hassona (whose given name is Fares El-Bakh), won Qatar’s first medal in its 37-year history of partaking in the Olympic Games.
But by the 2024 World Weightlifting Championships in Manama, fan-favorite Hassona was back in business and butting heads with Kazakhstan’s heavy hitter Artyom Antroprov.
In Bahrain, Meso told us he was “finally back” after a bumpy ride that year. He lost to Antropov and missed his second World title by a single kilogram. Now, they’re on a collision course for the 2025 Asian Weightlifting Championships.
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Hassona vs. Antropov at the Asian Weightlifting Championships
Hassona was in the driver’s seat until the World Cup last April. At the end of 2023, Meso was the number-two ranked 102-kilogram athlete in the world behind China’s Liu Huanhua. Antropov, meanwhile, was serving a 16-month suspension for failing a drug test at ‘23 Asians.
At the Cup, Meso had his sights set on a clean & jerk world record and, later in Paris, the most prestigious award in sport: “[My competitors] need to stop thinking about the gold medal … there’s only one king in the house.”
Hassona pulled out of the Cup to nurse his hip and would bomb out during the snatches in Paris, injuring his left elbow and right shoulder on his opener. Huanhua walked away with gold. Kazakhstan was banned from weightlifting in Paris altogether — but Antropov kept training.
When they last met on stage, at the World Championships in 2022, Hassona smoked Antropov in the total, 391 kilograms to 385. The tables turned two years later, and may turn again this spring at the Asian Weightlifting Championships.
- What About China?: This year’s Asian Weightlifting Championships take place in Jiangshan, China. “Gigachad” and his teammates are already gearing up; read more about that in our weekly newsletter.
Meso is still collecting his old strength, while Antropov has made good use of his hiatus from competition.
- Over their last four meets, both Hassona and Antropov have improved their totals. Hassona by 8 kilograms, and Antropov by 23.
- Meso was, in a way, hamstrung by the rigors of the Paris 2024 qualification system. He’s still behind his all-time best total of 404, set six years ago at the Qatar cup.
- Antropov, barred from qualifying, didn’t need to travel regularly or cut weight, and so mostly picked up where he left off prior to his suspension.
“My mindset is to get back on my feet,” Meso told us in Bahrain. His 399-kilogram total there was good for silver, but Hassona needs to stand on business if he wants to end this stage of his career on a high note.
“It doesn’t matter how many times I’m beaten down,” Meso said. “Courage is telling yourself you’ll try again tomorrow.”
- Swan Song: The Asian Weightlifting Championships in May is the final competition showcasing the 102-kilogram category, where Meso has made his home. Weightlifting’s new batch of categories go into effect in June.
If Hassona, Antropov, and Huanhua collide at Asians, one thing is certain; nobody will be happy with silver. Catch all the action with Weightlifting House from May 9-15.
