Bulgarian weightlifter Karlos Nasar, 20, sets a new WORLD RECORD in the 89kg weight class... clinching his country's second gold of the Olympics

Karlos Nasar set a new world record in the men's middleweight weightlifting on Friday.

The Bulgarian has been widely regarded as one of the top stars in the sport after triumphing in the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships aged just 17.

Entering the games as the favorite to secure gold in his weight category, Nasar immediately demonstrated his class at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles by hitting all three of his snatch attempts.

With a 180kg snatch secured, Nasar entered the second portion of the event level with Colombia's Yeison Lopez.

Nasar set himself apart from the rest of the pack in the clean and jerk, lifting 213kg on his first attempt which would have been enough to secure gold on its own.

Looking to improve on his total, Nasar returned to the platform to attempt a 224kg clean and jerk.

The two-time European champion already held the world record in the lift after lifting 223kg in last year's IWF Grand Prix.

With a world record hanging in the balance, Nasar looked unphased as he cleaned the barbell before completing the press to secure a world and Olympic record total and place his name in the record books.

Lopez failed his first attempt in the clean and jerk but would eventually manage a 210kg lift to take the silver medal with Italian Antonino Pizzolato placing third.

Nasar's victory marks Bulgaria's second gold of the Paris games following Ukrainian-born 87kg Greco-Roman wrestler Semen Novikov.