Karlos May Nasar (Bulgarian: Карлос Мей Насар; born 12 May 2004) is a Bulgarian weightlifter who is an Olympic champion, three-time World champion, and four-time European champion and one of the youngest weightlifting world record holders ever. He was named Bulgaria's Sportsman of the Year for 2024 and 2025. Nasar also received the 2024 and 2025 Ikarus Sports Award.
Early life Nasar was born in Paris to a Bulgarian mother and a Lebanese father. He has two brothers, Lazar and Ivan. He grew up in his native town of Cherven Bryag, where he started his professional career at СКВТ „Старт“.
Career
Olympic games In Nasar's Olympic debut, he won the 2024 Olympic men's 89 kg event, breaking eight World and Olympic records in the process. In the 89 kg final, he first lifted 213 kg in the clean & jerk for a new OR, and then proceeded to a World (and Olympic, and Junior) best mark of 224 kg. Adding these results to the 180 kg successful attempt in the snatch, he established an OR in the total (393 kg) and then a World, Olympic, and World Junior global mark of 404 kg. Out of the 13 records in the male competition in Paris, he was responsible for eight of them.
World Championships At 17 years old, he broke the world record in the men's 81 kg Clean & Jerk event with 208 kg to win the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships, simultaneously setting the junior and youth world records with a world record 374 kg total. He became the third youngest world champion in the history of weightlifting at the age of 17 years and 214 days, beaten by another Bulgarian Sevdalin Marinov, who became the world champion in the 52 kg in 1985 when he was 17 years and 47 days old, and Ilya Ilyin, who became world champion in the 85 kg class at 17 years and 183 days old.
At 18 years old, he broke the world record in the men's 89kg Clean & Jerk event with 220 kg to win the Clean & Jerk event at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships held in Bogotá, Colombia. He became the only male weightlifter to hold world records in two different categories.
In December 2024, he won his second World Championship in Manama, Bahrain setting a new snatch senior record of 183 kg and also a new total senior record of 405 kg, surpassing for the second time the 400 mark in category 89 kg. Amazingly, those were junior world records too because, Nasar is still only 20 years old.
In October 2025, he won his third World Championship in Førde, Norway. In the clean and jerk, the Bulgarian ranked first with successful attempts of 210, 219, and a world record of 222 kg, to collect a total of 395 kg.
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 in the total and the gold medal in the clean & jerk portion with a new European record of 206 kg ER. It was a fight between Antonino Pizzolato and him in which the Italian won with 1 kg difference in total.
In April 2023, at just 18 years old, at the 2023 European Weightlifting Championships in Yerevan, Armenia, he won the gold medal in the Clean & Jerk and in the Total, and the silver medal in the 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:
Junior World Record Clean & Jerk Junior World Record Total Senior World Record Clean & Jerk Senior World Record Total
In addition, Nasar's gold-medal-winning, record-setting Total of 395 kilograms was built with his best competition snatch of 174 kilograms (383.6 pounds). That snatch was also a new Junior World Record, his fifth on the same day. Nasar's result in Yerevan made him Best weightlifter of the European Championship in all categories. Nasar scored 1,000 points on the Robi points system. Lasha Talahadze is in second place with 883.5 points, and Garik Karapetyan is third with 847.6 points.
World records Senior world records As of 19 April 2025, Karlos Nasar has set 13 senior world weightlifting records for 4 different weights (81 kg, 89 kg, 94, 96 kg), records before the 01.01.2025 are also valid as junior world record for the respective category, records before 2022 are also valid as youth world record for the respective category.
Full list of Nasar's senior world records follows: No.Category up toDisciplineSenior world record (kg)DateCompetitionPlace181 kgclean & jerk20812.12.20212021 World Weightlifting ChampionshipsTashkent, Uzbekistan289 kgclean & jerk22011.12.20222022 World Weightlifting ChampionshipsBogota, Colombia389 kgclean & jerk22120.04.20232023 European Weightlifting ChampionshipsYerevan, Armenia489 kgtotal39520.04.20232023 European Weightlifting ChampionshipsYerevan, Armenia589 kgclean & jerk22310.12.2023IWF Grand PrixDoha, Qatar689 kgsnatch18106.04.2024IWF World Cup 2024Phuket, Thailand789 kgclean & jerk22409.08.20242024 Summer OlympicsParis, France889 kgtotal40409.08.20242024 Summer OlympicsParis, France989 kgsnatch18311.12.20242024 World Weightlifting ChampionshipsManama, Bahrain1089 kgtotal40511.12.20242024 World Weightlifting ChampionshipsManama, Bahrain1196 kgsnatch18819.04.20252025 European Weightlifting ChampionshipsChișinău, Moldova1296 kgtotal41719.04.20252025 European Weightlifting ChampionshipsChișinău, Moldova1394 kgclean & jerk 22209.10.20252025 World Weightlifting ChampionshipsFørde, Norway
As of 10 October 2025, Karlos Nasar holds the following 6 senior world records:
Category up toDisciplineSenior world record (kg)DateCompetitionPlace89 kgsnatch18311.12.2024World ChampionshipManama, Bahrain89 kgclean & jerk22409.08.2024Olympic games 2024Paris, France89 kgtotal40511.12.2024World ChampionshipManama, Bahrain96 kgsnatch18819.04.2025European ChampionshipsChișinău, Moldova96 kgtotal41719.04.2025European ChampionshipsChișinău, Moldova94 kgclean & jerk22209.10.20252025 World Weightlifting ChampionshipsFørde, Norway
Junior world records As of 31 December 2024, Nasar has set twenty junior world records in categories up to 81 kg and up to 89 kg, records before 2022 are also valid as youth world record for the respective category.
No.Category up toDisciplineJunior world record (kg)DateCompetitionPlace181 kgclean & jerk20607.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia281 kgclean & jerk20812.12.2021World championshipTashkent, Uzbekistan381 kgtotal37412.12.2021World championshipTashkent, Uzbekistan489 kgsnatch17102.06.2021European championshipTirana, Albania589 kgclean & jerk21102.06.2021European championshipTirana, Albania689 kgtotal37402.06.2021European championshipTirana, Albania789 kgtotal38202.06.2021European championshipTirana, Albania889 kgclean & jerk21211.12.2022World championshipBogota, Colombia989 kgclean & jerk22011.12.2022World championshipBogota, Colombia1089 kgsnatch17420.04.2023European championshipYerevan, Armenia1189 kgclean & jerk22120.04.2023European championshipYerevan, Armenia1289 kgtotal39520.04.2023European championshipYerevan, Armenia1389 kgclean & jerk22310.12.2023IWF Grand PrixDoha, Qatar1489 kgsnatch17617.02.2024European championshipSofia, Bulgaria1589 kgclean & jerk18106.04.2024IWF World Cup 2024Phuket, Thailand1689 kgtotal39606.04.2024IWF World Cup 2024Phuket, Thailand1789 kgclean & jerk22409.08.2024Olympic gamesParis, France1889 kgtotal40409.08.2024Olympic gamesParis, France1989 kgsnatch18311.12.2024World championshipManama, Bahrain2089 kgtotal40511.12.2024World championshipManama, Bahrain
As of 31 December 2024, Karlos Nasar holds the following junior world records:
Category up toDisciplineJunior world record (kg)DateCompetitionPlace81 kgclean & jerk20812.12.2021World ChampionshipTashkent, Uzbekistan81 kgtotal37412.12.2021World ChampionshipTashkent, Uzbekistan89 kgsnatch18311.12.2024World ChampionshipManama, Bahrain89 kgclean & jerk22409.08.2024Olympic games 2024Paris, France89 kgtotal40511.12.2024World ChampionshipManama, Bahrain
Youth world records Karlos Nasar has achieved twelve youth world records all set at 81 kg category at the European and World Championships in 2021.
No.Category up toDisciplineJunior world record (kg)DateCompetitionPlace181 kgsnatch15807.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia281 kgsnatch16307.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia381 kgclean & jerk19407.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia481 kgclean & jerk20007.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia581 kgclean & jerk20607.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia681 kgtotal35707.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia781 kgtotal36307.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia881 kgtotal36907.04.2021European championshipMoscow, Russia981 kgsnatch16612.12.2021World championshipTashkent, Uzbekistan1081 kgclean & jerk20812.12.2021World championshipTashkent, Uzbekistan1181 kgtotal37112.12.2021World championshipTashkent, Uzbekistan1281 kgtotal37412.12.2021World championshipTashkent, Uzbekistan
As of 31 December 2024, Karlos Nasar holds the following youth world records:
Category up toDisciplineYouth world record (kg)DateCompetitionPlace81 kgsnatch16612.12.2021World ChampionshipTashkent, Uzbekistan81 kgclean & jerk20812.12.2021World ChampionshipTashkent, Uzbekistan81 kgtotal37412.12.2021World ChampionshipTashkent, Uzbekistan
Major results + Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank 1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 RankRepresenting Bulgaria Olympic Games 2024 Paris, France 89 kg 173 177 180 213 224 CWR, — 404 WR, World Championships2021 Tashkent, Uzbekistan 81 kg 163 166 EJR 169 200 205 208 WR 374 JWR 2022 Bogotá, Colombia 89 kg 173 173 174 — 212 217 220 WR — — 2024 Manama, Bahrain 89 kg 170 176 183 CWR 210 222 225 405 CWR 2025 Førde, Norway 94 kg 173 178 1824 210 219 222WR 395 European Championships2021 Moscow, Russia 81 kg 158 162163 EJR194 200 206 ER369 EJR2022 Tirana, Albania 89 kg 171 WJR175176203 211 WJR 217 382 WJR2023 Yerevan, Armenia 89 kg 165 170 174 WJR 205 221 WR — 395 WR2024 Sofia, Bulgaria 89 kg 168 173 176 WJR 208 215 — 391 2025 Chișinău, Moldova 96 kg 174 180 188 CWR 210 220 229 ER417 CWR2026 Batumi, Georgia 94 kg 170 176 183 210 210 223 386 IWF World Cup2024 Phuket, Thailand 89 kg 170 176 181 WR 215 224 224 396 JWR IWF Grand Prix 2023 Doha, Qatar 89 kg 165 170 175 6 205 211 223 WR 393 Youth World Championships2019 Las Vegas, United States 73 kg 123127130154 154 161291Youth World Cup Online 2020 Lima, Peru 81 kg 150150155180190—345European Youth Weightlifting Championships2017 Pristina, Kosovo 56 kg 78 82848 106 111 118419772018 San Donato Milanese, Italy 69 kg 105 109 113 130 140 1472602019 Eilat, Israel 81 kg 125 133 140 150 160170300
Personal bests + On Video Lifts Snatch Clean & Jerk Back Squat Front Squat Clean JerkLifted 188 kg 230 kg 290 kg 240 kg x2 230 kg ??Event 2025 Europeans 2024 Bundesliga Personal Instagram Post [24/06/2024] Personal Instagram Post [28/11/2023] Personal Instagram Post [15/06/2024]
References
External links
Karlos May Nasar at IAT Database Weightlifting (in German)