FORDE, Norway, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Despite strong competition and two unsuccessful attempts, Olympic champion Solfrid Koanda delighted a full house of local spectators by clinching two gold medals in the women's 86kg category at the IWF World Championships held at Fordehuset here on Thursday.

Koanda, Norway's first female Olympic and world weightlifting champion, was closely challenged in both events by Yudelina Mejia of the Dominican Republic, who maintained the lead until Koanda's final clean and jerk lift.

Koanda lifted 152kg in her third clean and jerk attempt, achieving a total of 272kg to claim the overall title. She placed second in the snatch on 120kg.

"That was my best day. It was unbelievable to see people wearing my name on their shirts and to perform here for such a wonderful home crowd," Koanda said. She was in tears and lying on the floor after securing her victory following Mejia's failure on her last lift.

"It's difficult to describe how much work went into winning these medals. I had a back injury that I kept to myself. There were times when I couldn't train properly, and even simple movements were sometimes a challenge," she added.

"It was only in the last week that I knew I could do it. I trusted my legs, I understood my capabilities, and today I felt good. I believed in myself, and everything went very well," said Koanda who will turn 27 in November.

Mejia claimed gold in the snatch and silver in the clean and jerk and total with lifts of 122-149-271, Australia's Eileen Cikamatana took the bronze with 112-140-252, respectively.

In the men's 94kg category, Karlos Nasar of Bulgaria placed fourth in the snatch with 173kg before setting a new world record of 222kg in the clean and jerk, finishing with a winning total of 395kg.

Alireza Moeini of Iran set a world record in the snatch with 182kg and took the overall runner-up position with 391kg. Jokser Albornoz of Colombia earned three medals in Group B, finishing bronze in the snatch, silver in the clean and jerk, and bronze overall, completing six successful lifts totaling 175-215-390.

The men's 110kg competition is scheduled for Friday. The 10-day IWF World Championships will conclude on October 11 following contests in the women's +86kg and men's +110kg categories. ■