Oscar Albeiro Figueroa Mosquera (born 27 April 1983) is a retired Colombian weightlifter, and a gold medallist competing in the 62 kg category until 2018 and 67 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories. He was born in the rural township of Zaragoza, located in Cartago, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.

He initially retired from the sport after the 2016 Summer Olympics, but returned to international competition and competed at the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships. He formally announced his retirement again in November 2019.

Career

Olympics At the 2004 Summer Olympics he ranked 5th in the snatch as well as the clean & jerk in the 56 kg category, lifting a total of 280 kg, and finished 5th overall.

In the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, Figueroa failed to make a lift in the snatch category, he was unable to lift the bar from the floor in all three attempts. After the competition, it was discovered that he had a c6/7 cervical hernia which weakened his right hand. He left the Olympics without posting a result and had surgery to correct the hernia.

In his return to the Olympics after his injury, he placed 3rd after the snatch portion of the competition with a lift of 140 kg. After failing to make his first two lifts in the clean & jerk portion, he successfully completed an Olympic Record lift of 177 kg. This gave him a total of 317 kg; bronze medalist Eko Yuli Irawan also had the same total, but Figueroa had a lighter body weight (61.76 kg vs 61.98 kg) and won the silver medal.

Earlier in 2016 Figueroa had surgery to repair his chronic back pain caused by a lumbar hernia, and returned to the Olympics hoping to win gold. On August 8, 2016, Figueroa finally won gold in the 62 kg division with a total of 318 kg. After attempting and failing to lift 179 kg to set a new Olympic Record, Figueroa took off his shoes and placed them on the platform, signaling his immediate retirement from the sport. On November 26, 2019, Oscar Figueroa formally announced his retirement from weightlifting competitions in a press conference.

World Championships Figueroa participated in the men's -62 kg class at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships and won the silver medal, finishing behind Qiu Le. He snatched 137 kg and jerked an additional 160 kg for a total of 297 kg, 11 kg behind winner Qiu.75th MEN'S and 18th WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS -62 KG MEN , iwf.net

He ranked 4th in the 62 kg category at the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships.

Failure to Report Whereabouts On April 12, 2019, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) reported that Figueroa was not allowed to participate in multiple weightlifting events. This was due to Figueroa failing to report his whereabouts in a timely manner so the IWF could perform surprise doping tests as required by international anti-doping regulations. It was noted this failure-to-report did not mean Figueroa was involved in any doping cases opened by the IWF. When interviewed, Figueroa reported he failed to send them due to human error. He also reported that while he was prevented from participating in the 2020 Pan American Championship, he was not impeded from other competition that could help qualify him for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Major results Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank 1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 RankRepresenting Olympic Games2004 Athens, Greece 56 kg 120.0125.0127.55145.0150.0155.05280.052008 Beijing, China 62 kg 128128128 ——— 2012 London, United Kingdom 62 kg 1371401423177177177 OR 13172016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 62 kg 137142 AM14511721761791318 AMWorld Championships2006 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 62 kg 13213714116016416452972007 Chiang Mai, Thailand 62 kg 1351401406160160165829542009 Goyang, South Korea 62 kg 1351391414165165168530742011 Paris, France 62 kg 1351381406170170175430842013 Wrocław, Poland 62 kg 1351391411751771833162014 Almaty, Kazakhstan 62 kg 135135135——— 2015 Houston, United States 62 kg 135140140175180180315 2018 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 67 kg 140 145 145 8 176 178 181 318 5 2019 Pattaya, Thailand 67 kg 137 140 140 17 176 181 181 5 313 10Pan American Games2011 Guadalajara, Mexico 62 kg 132135137116517117513122015 Toronto, Canada 62 kg 1301301352170175—13102019 Lima, Peru 67 kg 135 135 138 2 — — —

References

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