Biography

History

Karlos May Nasar (Bulgarian: Карлос Насар born 12 May 2004) is a Bulgarian weightlifter and is one of the youngest weightlifting world record holders ever. At 17 years old, he broke the senior 81kg Clean & Jerk world record (208 kg) to win the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, becoming the third youngest world champion in the history of weightlifting at the age of 17 years and 214 days. At 18 years old, Karlos broke the world record again, this time in 89kg (220 kg) to win the gold medal in Clean & Jerk at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships, making him the only male weightlifter to hold world records in two different categories. At the 2023 European Weightlifting Championships, he set five new World records in the 89kg event in one day in the Junior and Senior categories.

Career

World Championships

At 17 years old, he broke the world record in the men’s 81kg Clean & Jerk event with 208kg to win the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships, simultaneously setting the junior and youth world records with a world record of 374kg total.

At 18 years old, he broke the world record in the men's 89 kg Clean & Jerk event with 220kg to win the Clean & Jerk event at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships held in Bogotá, Colombia.

European Championships

In 2021, at the age of 16, he competed at the European Weightlifting Championships in the 81 kg category, winning the silver in the snatch and the total and the gold medal in the clean & jerk portion with a new European record of 206 kg ER.

In April 2023, at only 18 years old, at the 2023 European Weightlifting Championships in Yerevan, Armenia he won the gold medal in Clean & Jerk and in Total and the silver medal in Snatch in the 89-kilogram division where he broke five world records. Nasar’s staggering 221-kilogram (487.2-pound) clean & jerk record lift allowed him to break the record

in 2024 at the age of 19, he competed in the European Weightlifting Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria. in the 89kg category, winning the gold medal in the snatch with a new European record of 176 kg ER . Gold medal in the clean & jerk with 215 kg, and the total gold medal with 391 kg.

Junior World Record Clean & Jerk
Junior World Record Total
Senior World Record Clean & Jerk
Senior World Record Total

Nasar's result in Yerevan made him the Best weightlifter of the European Championship in all categories. Nasar scored 1000 points on the Robi points system.

On August 9, 2024, during the Olympic Games in Paris, Karlos Nasar achieved 180 kg in the snatch movement and 224 kg in the clean and jerk movement.

The total sum of kilograms from the total is 404, with which Nasar sets a new world record. The result of 224 kg. in the clean and jerk is also a new world record. On August 26, 2024, he was declared an honorary citizen of the city of Cherven Bryag.

On December 11, 2024, Karlos Nasar triumphed with three gold medals – at the World Weightlifting Championships in Manama, Bahrain. The super talent set two world records: 183 kg in the snatch and 405 kg in the total (183+222 kg).

With this success, Nasar went down in history as one of the few Bulgarian athletes to win an Olympic, world and European title in one calendar year. However, he is the only one to win the three titles in three separate competitions, as years ago the Olympics were considered a world championship.

At the end of the year, Karlos Nasar was elected “Athlete of the Year” in Bulgaria. The most prestigious sports award in the country was presented to him personally by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev.