Seven gold medals in three years and Solfrid Koanda still isn’t satisfied.
“As an athlete, I’m always looking to improve,” she tells Weightlifting House ahead of the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships.
For the 2024 Olympic Champion, snatching up a world record or two is on the menu “if the conditions align.” If Koanda wants her name in weightlifting’s record books, this year’s EWC in Chisinau, Moldova needs to go her way.
- Remind Me: In June, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will enact its new bodyweight categories. The 81 and 87-kilo classes, where Koanda has performed since her debut in 2021, will no longer exist — nor will the opportunity to set new world records there.
With the European Weightlifting Championships right around the corner (they kick off on April 13), we took a beat to sit down with Solfrid and see what she’s been up to since her historic performance in Paris.
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Aiming High at the European Weightlifting Championships
You don’t maintain a (nearly) pristine international resume without paying attention to the details. “I’m even more motivated to push my limits,” Solfrid tells us, “whether it’s in my movement or the kilograms on my barbell.”
At Europeans, Solfrid might do something no athlete has managed in nearly seven years; nab one or more of the Women’s 87-kilogram world standards. The standards, established in 2018 when the IWF minted the 87-kilo category, are:
- Snatch: 132 kilograms
- Clean & Jerk: 164 kilograms
- Total: 294 kilograms
To bag her first world record(s), Koanda needs to lift at least one kilogram more than the standard. In the clean & jerk, she’s close — her best is 160 kilos, which she hit at Euros last year.
- Almost Perfect: Koanda has placed first at every IWF event she’s attended since the 2022 European Weightlifting Championships, with the exception of an uncharacteristic zero-for-three snatch day at Worlds in ‘23.
Since Paris, Koanda has enlisted additional coaches (she mentioned retired German weightlifter Almir Velagić). She’s also doubled down on refining her technique while balancing the training and recovery demands of full-time weightlifting.
Solfrid plans on taking the stage in Chisinau in “peak condition,” but a third European title, or even claiming a few records, aren’t what she’s most excited about.
This year’s World Weightlifting Championships will be held on Koanda’s “home soil” in Forde, Norway. Weightlifters of all stripes are bolstered by a chance to lift on their own turf: Think Karlos Nasar’s dominant performance at the European Weightlifting Championships in Sofia last year; Yenny Alvarez winning her first World title in Bogotá in ‘22; Meso Hassona hitting a career-best total at the Qatar cup.
Making History
No Norwegian weightlifter had won the Olympics in over 50 years before Koanda came along. Prior to her career in weightlifting, she was an electrician. In four years, Solfrid went from snatching an empty barbell to becoming Olympic Champion.
It’s the sort of trajectory most athletes only dream of, and it got us thinking: What’s changed for Solfrid since?
“It transformed my life,” she tells us. “While my training remains my main focus, I now also have greater opportunities to engage with the community and share the message that dreams are achievable, no matter the challenges you face.”
You can watch Solfrid go for gold on stage at the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships on April 20 at 1:00PM Eastern Standard Time, or 8:00PM local time (GMT+3), on Weightlifting House TV.
