Luis Manuel Lauret Rodriguez, a gold and a silver for Romania at the European Weightlifting Championships in Batumi
Article by Roxana Fleşeru – Published Saturday, April 25, 2026 9:09 p.m. / Updated Saturday, April 25, 2026 9:13 p.m.
Luis Manuel Lauret Rodriguez (27 years old) won gold in the snatch style, with a European record (195 kg), and silver overall (414 kg), in the 110 kg category, at the European Championships in Batumi (Georgia). The Romanian delegation ends the European competition with seven awards.
Luis Manuel Lauret Rodriguez, the naturalized Cuban, was the last “tricolor” to compete at the European Championships in Batumi. He brought two more awards for Romania's dowry from this competition, which already included five medals.
The athlete from Romania entered the competition in the snatch style at 185 kg, with a successful attempt, then moved up to 190 kg and finished with 195 kg. An evolution that brought him gold, with a new European record. He was followed by the Bulgarian Hristo Hristov (190 kg) and the Armenian Garik Karapetyan (189 kg).
In the shot put, Luis Manuel Lauret Rodriguez placed 5th, having two successful attempts at 213 and 219 kg, but missing the last attempt at 225 kg.
In the throwing style, our athlete placed 5th, with 219 kg, after missing the third attempt at 223 kg. The podium was occupied by Garik Karapetyan (226 kg), the Russian Magomed Balalev (225 kg) and the Bulgarian Hristo Hristov (222 kg).
Luis Manuel Lauret Rodriguez, to one kilogram of gold in total
In total, the “tricolor” ranked second, with 414 kg, being surpassed by Garik Karapetyan (415 kg) and surpassing Hristo Hristov (412 kg).
Legitimated at CS Olimpia, Lauret debuted in 2025 for Romania at the European Championships in Chisinau, where he won two bronze medals, in the snatch (180 kg) and in the total (390 kg), in the 109 kg category. At the World Championships, he won silver in the snatch.
The evolution of the naturalized Cuban ended Romania's participation in the European Championships in Batumi, where he participated with 15 athletes and won seven medals. Mihaela Cambei (53 kg) won the gold in the snatch style, the silver in the throw and the silver overall. Andreea Cotruța became European vice-champion in the snatch style, in the 63 kg category, and Tiberiu Donose was third in the snatch, in the 79 kg category.
At the previous edition of the European Championships, held last year in Chisinau (Republic of Moldova), the Romanian delegation (consisting of 15 athletes) won 11 medals, including four gold, three silver and four bronze.
