Lü Xiaojun

Lü Xiaojun (Chinese: 吕小军; pinyin: Lǚ Xiǎojūn; born July 27, 1984) is a Chinese weightlifter. He is an Olympic champion and three time world champion. He is also the current world and Olympic record holder for both the snatch and the total in the 77 kg category. His world records are 177 kg (390 lb) in the snatch and 380 kg (840 lb) total. He utilizes the squat jerk technique instead of the typical split jerk.

Lü was born in a village administered by Qianjiang City, Hubei Province. His father, Lü Yuan, and the rest of his family were farmers. When he was 13 years old he joined a local sports school to be trained as a weightlifter, which was an opportunity to escape rural poverty. In 1999, to remove the financial burden on Lü's family, his coach Dengling Hu sent him to join the provincial team.

In 2003 Lü represented the Hubei in the national weightlifting championships - 69 kg and won bronze. The same year, due to his outstanding performance, he joined the Chinese national team. In 2006 due to ligament injuries in his shoulders and legs he left the national team. In 2008, after the 2008 Summer Olympics, Lü renewed his training in the national team with coach Yu Jie.

Lü won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 77 kg class with a total of 379 kg. His snatch of 175 kg set both a world and Olympic record, as did his total of 379 kg, for the 77 kg class. Due to an error during the snatch phase, Lü was unable to attempt his third lift at 177 kg.

Lü won 3 gold medals in the 77 kg class at the 2013 World Weightlifting Championships. He broke his own world record in the snatch with a lift of 176 kg. He also completed a 204 kg clean and jerk, setting a new world record total of 380 kg.

Lü married his long-term girlfriend Guo Xiyan, a former world class weightlifter herself, in December 2013. They have one child together, born in August 2014.