GAOYANG, South Korea, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Lu Xiaojun of China broke the world record to win the gold medal in the men's 77kg category at the world weightlifting championships here on Tuesday.

    The 25-year-old lifter hoised 174kg in the snatch, 1kg more than the previous record set by Kazakhstan's Filimonov Sergey at the Asian weightlifting championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2004.

    In the clean and jerk Lu lifted 204kg to catch the gold with a total of 378kg, beating the previous one by 1kg.

    The previous record - 377kg - was set by Bulgaria's Jelyazkov Plamen at 2002 world weightlifting championships in Doha.

    It is the first time for Long to compete in the worlds.

    "I came here for the gold medal, and I had confidence in myself," Lu told Xinhua after the competition.

    Lu, who has been a sprinter before, started weightlifting training at the age of 18.

    With regard to the goal in the future, Lu said he hopes to mount the highest podium at 2012 London Olympics.

    Martirosyan Tigran of Armenia took the silver with a total of 370kg, 170kg in the snatch and 200kg in the jerk. Lu's teammate, Su Dajin, took the bronze with a total of 365kg, 165kg in the snatch and 200kg in the jerk.