In Olympic weightlifting there are two types of lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. The snatch is where the lifter takes the bar from the ground to above his or her head. The clean and jerk is where the lifter lifts the bar to his or her chest and then pushes it up above his or her head. Each lifter gets three attempts at each and the highest weight totals from both lifts are added together to create a final score.

On his first attempt at the snatch, defending Olympic gold medalist Sa Jae-Hyouk (South Korea) had lifted 158 kg (348.33 lbs), but on his second attempt he tried to push it to 162 kg (357.15 lbs). Disaster struck.